Jump to content

Joining a union?


Sue Durnim

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 104
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Sue,

Can we get to specifics?

Which Union do you belong to and how many are employed where you work?

 

Peter T.

 

I don't think it matters where I work or which union I am in, however, I do beleive in the ethics of a union but as always the people who are at the top may have their own agenda, not a lot I can do about that, but the workers at the grass roots do have union back-up, which in this climate is a source of comfort and there is always safety in numbers?

 

I don't have answers to all the questions being asked of me here or intelligent enough to give you all the rights and wrongs of a union, workers should make their own minds up and have the courage of their conviction to stand by their colleagues and unions in time of need.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Be thankfull you have a Union,i tried to get one organised a few years ago and out of 140 people only 3 turned up,the others had the attitude, I?m ok so why should i bother....what they didnt know is that i was getting paid more than them at the time....and there were so many issues we needed some help but no one was bothered so i gave up and now i fight my own battles...

 

Free loader are everywhere and they will always be there..

 

My last payrise was 5 years ago and we had a paycut last year,that was for a one year period,got full pay now but the promise of the money being repaid hasnt been fullfilled, just buying new trucks (15 in the last 3 months) so now we know where the money is...

 

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only difference between slavery and wage slavery is food and board. It is generally in the employers interest to minimise wages in order to maximise profit; this also involves operating unsafe systems for the same reason as we've seen in the Chilean mining saga. So, ever since that shop steward - Spartacus, kicked off; collective action by workers to improve their conditions has been required. And as with Spartacus through to Watt Tyler, to the Tollpuddle Martyrs, any leader of a collective struggle is normally "taken out" by the establishment; nowadays they normally leave it to the press. :cry:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sue,

I wasn't asking where you worked.

I asked the question because it has a relevence to the topic.

ALL the unions have different agendas and different ways of working.

And the number of employees can make a difference. ie, they can gather more support if there are 100, or 1000 than if only 5 or 6.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Obs, are you saying there are companies in this country that operate slave wages and conditions? Other than the ones employing illegal immigrants (the vast majority of which always seem to be immigrants themselves; illegal or otherwise) I would challenge you to back up that statement

 

This country has one of the best working environments in the world and the safest working practices..... unless of course you were ever to attend a safety induction at a large site that we worked on a few years ago.

 

the safety chap did the induction in English to about 30 people; 10 of whom were Polish, of which none spoke English. They then signed the safety acceptance and happily walked off onto site to work! The joys of EU freedom of labour eh?? :wink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sue,

I wasn't asking where you worked.

I asked the question because it has a relevence to the topic.

ALL the unions have different agendas and different ways of working.

And the number of employees can make a difference. ie, they can gather more support if there are 100, or 1000 than if only 5 or 6.

 

I agree!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Baz. I was putting things into an historical perspective (you need to know where you've been, in order to figure out where your going!); in order to boil matters down to their fundementals. Yes, of course your right, most (large) Companies are now responsible (albeit a relative concept), and we have bank holidays, H&S and Employment laws - ALL of which wasn't given by some benign employing class, it's all had to be fought for, by the struggles of past generations of collective action by workers. :cry:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting (bearing in mind one of Baz's posts); seems some farmer was employing Rumanian labour on his farm, including children - believe Social Services have now taken the kids into care - and I wonder who will be paying for that? :roll:

 

We will of course!!!! It was horrendous on many counts, not only that the children were working at all and in freezing conditions but that the gangmaster was prepared to have children openly working, not something you expect to see in the UK.

 

You can't fault the work ethic though!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is illegal, all employers have to pay minimum wages by law and it must be shown on the pay slip.

 

The following is a quote from the hairdressers journal.

 

I pay my staff ?4 an hour plus commission, they always receive well over the NMW and if they didn't I would pay the amount. Is this compliant?

 

The position is clear that as long as staff reach the minimum wage the law has been complied with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is illegal, all employers have to pay minimum wages by law and it must be shown on the pay slip.

 

The following is a quote from the hairdressers journal.

 

I pay my staff ?4 an hour plus commission, they always receive well over the NMW and if they didn't I would pay the amount. Is this compliant?

 

The position is clear that as long as staff reach the minimum wage the law has been complied with.

 

Nothing surprises me anymore, however this is obviously and morally wrong, the tips should be on top of what they get paid. Just look at the bankers, they get a big fat bonus on top of their big fat wage even when they do wrong, so wahy are hair dressers or waiters etc any different?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I quote from the Direct gov site:

 

Who is a worker for NMW purposes?

 

If you have an employment contract you are an employee and therefore a worker for the purpose of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rules.

 

If you don?t have an employment contract, you could still be a worker and entitled to receive the NMW if you do work personally for someone else (under a worker?s contract, such as a contract to perform services personally). If you are genuinely self-employed you are not entitled to receive the NMW.

 

I wouldn't have thought many hairdressers and restaurant workers would think they were self-employed...?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't have thought many hairdressers and restaurant workers would think they were self-employed...?

 

Quite right ! and your point is ........?

 

My point is that they are entitled to receive the minimum wage as a basic from their employer.

 

Peter T - You are probably right, I'm sure i've heard that before, so that would make some self-employed, but that would usually be the trained ones who have a steady group of returning customers. The washers and brushers up at the bottom of the chain wouldn't be in that category, so wouldn't be self-employed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see the fire brigades union in London is showing its true lefty colours by calling a strike on bonfire night!

 

Personally I would hold the union and its members responsible for any deaths caused during their strike and have them up for manslaughter.......

 

 

oh and now the post office unions are looking to strike over christmas.......

 

Good old unions eh??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My point is that they are entitled to receive the minimum wage as a basic from their employer.

 

 

Of course they are entitled. :roll::roll: The point is that their employers cheat the system and get round paying the minimum wage by including retail sales, commission, tips and bonuses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So what do you recommend Baz, that they tug on their forlocks and thank the Master for worsening their conditions of employment. Thought we Brits were sheepish enough, compared to the Frogs. :roll:

 

I was a strong union member and a one time shop steward and in my opinion the one thing any union should try to avoid doing is to alienate themselves from the public, firemen striking on bonfire night is a certain way of achieving that!. I have no love for the French nation (nothing against the individual) but one thing they will do is demonstrate en masse, if any nations public sits back and with apathy it is ours, we only rise up and gell together when we have a national emergency or threat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...