Dimlaith:
Exactly, the union now needs to do something to improve the new contract. All we hear from our reps is “you signed the contract”. Well so did they at the start of their employment and I know theirs has changed over the years to give them better terms.
Agreed, it’s an utterly ridiculous argument. The point of the union is to set what those contractual terms are for the workforce, and ensure that they are favourable to the workers as a whole.
If the existing workers think new workers have accepted less, then we shall see if the existing workers will accept it too. If not, presumably the argument is that the existing staff can always leave and go elsewhere, and let the work be done by the new workers who have accepted the lower terms which the union negotiated on their behalf.