MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
I'm going to join a union to help me tackle problems which are brewing at work 🙂
I don't know anything about unions - does it matter which one I join?
Amicus? PCS? Any other?
I work for a professional services firm doing IT if that makes a difference!
N.U.M 😉
Brewing you say?
[url= http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/761185 ]You'll be needing the "Burton Union" then[/url] 🙂
Give the TUC a bell.
This is the [url= http://www.tuc.org.uk/tuc/unions_main.cfm ]website page[/url] you need.
Are there already recognised unions at your work place ? If so, as the effectiveness of a union at the work place level is so dependant on the stewards/reps, I would approach them individually, talk to them, and settle for the union with the most leftie sounding steward. A Daily Mail reading steward/rep is hardly likely to do very much for you - are they ? 😯
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Mmm............unless if course they are trots. In which case it's a completely different ball game. Some are ok, but some are well dodgy and likely to screw up things even more 😕
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😕 ....
wait - TopTip : tell them that you read the Morning Star - if they scream abuse at you, then they are dodgy trots 8)
i joined tgwu/unite in november. they initially put me in the eastern/london branch although i live in scotland. took them until march to send me a union card
looking good so far!
LOL @ winstonsmith !
Unless a union is officially recognised by your employer, I can't see it makes any difference to join one - unless I'm missing something.
NB Don't think anyone at my company is a member...
Yes footflaps, you're missing something - unions do more than just provide wage and conditions negotiations with an employer. They also provide amongst other things, legal advice and representation. And of course a union needs members in the first place if it's ever to be recognised by an employer.
footflaps - you get employment advice and representation of a highly variable quality
you get employment advice and representation of a highly variable quality
How would you know what you get winstonsmith ?
in a previous job i gave employment advice to a few people who'd had pretty rubbish treatment from their union when they went there for help
i've heard other stories about the same union too
I'm sorry, can I get this straight. You want to join a union because you think you could get immediate (short/medium term) benefit due to problems at work.
So you want to start paying dues because you think you could get a short/medium term benefit.
Why did you not join earlier and pay your dues earlier like may others who perhaps see it as a long term investment in their and their industries/communities future?
It sounds like that when your problems are over you will unsubcribe. You sound like a bit of a sponger to me, am I right?
footflaps- Member
Unless a union is officially recognised by your employer, I can't see it makes any difference to join one - unless I'm missing something.
If you are in an union it usually makes the employer cagey as you can fight far easier than a non union member (because it is free and the union legal bods specialise in employment law etc ... which may be very expensive to defend. I have know peole get largish sums of money 5k plus just because it would be cheaper than fighting a case that the employer would likely win anyway.
TUC will help sure there is a GEEKS union somewhere 😉
I am a Union rep /steward
EDIT: you do get variable quality as you do with bike shops/estate agents/doctors etc etc
People do join at the hard times redundancy/TUPE etc and then leave afterwards ....they tend to get the worst service
Ours takes 3 mths for benefits and wont deal with an issue arising from before joining ....
i'm fairly sure most unions tell people to **** arf if they've just joined and then immediately ask for employment advice
My employer treats people great until they are randomly fired and there is a local solicitor who gets a roaring trade from ex-employees suing for unfair dismissal. So far he's got 100% pay out in out of court settlements for everyone.
That's who I'd go to for advice.....
some employers behave very oddly...
You sound like a bit of a sponger to me, am I right?
That's totally unfair - it's perfectly normal to join a union when problems start 'brewing' at work. Luther has given no indication that he will leave if/when things are resolved. Plus it's up to individual unions to decide how long their qualifying period for full benefits to new members is. You're out of order with that comment imo.
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in a previous job i gave employment advice to a few people who'd had pretty rubbish treatment from their union when they went there for help
Would all the people who were fully satisfied with their unions also have gone to you ? And if so, would you have expected them to share their satisfaction with you ?