Unions

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Last night I was at Land Rover in Solihull to move cars to Gaydon. We had been asked to do this job by JLR but I was told last night that as our company isn’t unionised we would not be on it for long. Got up this afternoon to start my shift to be told they don’t need us anymore! Do the unions still have much clout in these places? My gaffer is not happy and neither am I!

2

Sounds like a closed shop I might be wrong Im no legal expert

A pre-entry closed shop is a form of union security agreement under which the employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times in order to remain employed.[1] A post-entry closed shop is an agreement requiring all employees to join the union if they are not already members.[2]

International Labour Organization covenants do not address the legality of closed shop provisions, leaving the question up to each individual nation.[3] The legal status of closed shop agreements varies widely from country to country, ranging from bans on the agreement to extensive regulation of the agreement to not mentioning it at all.

All forms of closed shops in the UK are strictly illegal following the introduction of the Employment Act 1990. They were further curtailed under section 137(1)(a) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (c. 52)[8] passed by the Conservative government at the time. The Labour Party, then in opposition, had supported closed shops until December 1989, when it abandoned the policy in accordance with European legislation.

3

I’m sure it’s probably someone who doesn’t like a bit of competition and is stirring things. We’ve gone out of our way to help doing nights. Now back to days on another contract.

4

Who do u work for if you font mind me asking

5

Possibly, agreement’s in place and company tried it on. Union told them to stop.

6

Simple answer, join union, everyone’s happy.

7

I’d sooner not join the union! Personal opinion, but nothing more than a bunch of communists! It’s not the 1970’s!

8

Bj63:
I’d sooner not join the union! Personal opinion, but nothing more than a bunch of communists! It’s not the 1970’s![/quote

If it’s a strong Union, you will benefit by joining it. I do laugh at your word “communist’s” though.

9

Enjoy the other work then.

10

No organisation should be able to influence the independent decision to work legally. Just because We’re not in their “club” its a joke! And actually I don’t mind the other work!

11

Bj63:
No organisation should be able to influence the independent decision to work legally. Just because We’re not in their “club” its a joke! And actually I don’t mind the other work!

That organisation influences the decision for it’s member’s. It will be legally binding by agreement’s agreed between the Union and the company. It’s not a joke, it’s for the benefit of the employee. Even those who refuse to be in the Union.

12

sweepster:

Bj63:
No organisation should be able to influence the independent decision to work legally. Just because We’re not in their “club” its a joke! And actually I don’t mind the other work!

That organisation influences the decision for it’s member’s. It will be legally binding by agreement’s agreed between the Union and the company. It’s not a joke, it’s for the benefit of the employee. Even those who refuse to be in the Union.

Quite, it stops operators with poor terms and conditions undercutting those who do pay/train and operate quality equipment professionally…or even not undercutting but getting the full rate yet paying their staff peanuts.
Long may it continue.

13

I just don’t see how anyone can see the union idea is practical these days, other than the union leaders who do very nicely out of it!

14

But, what about companies who do comply with all of the things you mention but choose not to be in the union? Surely it should not put them at a disadvantage in a modern free market?

15

Bj63:
I just don’t see how anyone can see the union idea is practical these days, other than the union leaders who do very nicely out of it!

Those of us who’ve been in the union for years,and had class leading terms and conditions as a result can tell you all the reasons for being in a union with a high percentage of active members at the place of work.

Union leaders do OK, so do their members, whats not to like.

The only reason the job hasn’t reached rock bottom over the last 8 years of depression is that the well unionised jobs have continued to pay well, and as they can get in, those drivers who were in worse jobs have sensibly snapped up vacancies there, hence keeping the dross companies short enough of staff to keep the pay above slave rates.

Again long may this continue.

Only my opinion, other feel differently for a variety of reasons, many of them non union members at unionised companies who have no trouble trousering (and wingeing endlessly about) the pay increases the union they don’t support negotiates for them.

16

Juddian:

Bj63:
I just don’t see how anyone can see the union idea is practical these days, other than the union leaders who do very nicely out of it!

Those of us who’ve been in the union for years,and had class leading terms and conditions as a result can tell you all the reasons for being in a union with a high percentage of active members at the place of work.

Union leaders do OK, so do their members, whats not to like.

The only reason the job hasn’t reached rock bottom over the last 8 years of depression is that the well unionised jobs have continued to pay well, and as they can get in, those drivers who were in worse jobs have sensibly snapped up vacancies there, hence keeping the dross companies short enough of staff to keep the pay above slave rates.

Again long may this continue.

Only my opinion, other feel differently for a variety of reasons, many of them non union members at unionised companies who have no trouble trousering (and wingeing endlessly about) the pay increases the union they don’t support negotiates for them.[/quote

Agree 100%

17

When I first started driving after leaving the Army, I used to do a fair bit of agency work for BRS, and in those days that was a closed shop so I had to pay me subs to the T&GWU as it then was.

I don’t approve of closed shops for the simple reason that despite what Juddian says, the system is open to abuse by the shop stewards just as much as a non-unionised set-up is open to abuse by unscrupulous employers. Nobody wins.

Having said that I am in a union now. A few years ago I had a bit of a personal difference with a supervisor, and my job was on the line; I wasn’t a union member then. Our shop steward volunteered to attend my disciplinary, spoke for me and but for him I could easily have been out of a job, with a stain on my work record. As a point of honour I joined the union forthwith; I pay my subs by direct debit and view it as “job insurance”. If I have any issues with my managers, I simply suggest that I will refer the matter back to the shop steward; I cannot be sure if it always makes a difference but I suspect on occasion it might.

Unions have their uses provided that they limit their activities to working for the benefit of their members, which of course is what they are set up to do. There will always, of course, be idiots like McCluskey around who think that being the boss of a union gives them the chance to run the country, but in reality they do themselves no favours, and today’s union members are smart enough to see through their pretensions.

18

Just a point to make, i didn’t mention shop stewards, but now they’ve been mentioned i will comment.

You can trawl any of my posts on the subject of unions and i’ve made the same comment umpteen times, no doubt boring the arse off many.

The most important decision you will make as union member is your choice of steward.
There are good bad indifferent and once in a while corrupt ones, so choose wisely, most are good IMO.

A good steward wears two hats, whilst acting in the interests of the members he/she sometimes has to slip the disciplinary style hat on in order to prevent idiotic members spoiling the job for everyone including themselves, this might mean bollocking an idiot instead of it becoming a company disciplinary, sensible members appreciate it once things have cooled down even if they might resent it at the time if its them.

I’ve only ever worked at one job where collusion between stewards and management was rife to the detriment of the vast majority of the drivers, it was a job i was glad to leave, and it’s still crap after umpteen name changes.

19

Guys, they are all closed shops on both sides of the argument! Trade associations, unions, trading partners, trading blocs, preferred suppliers, nominated logistics provider and so on. They are all/were formed for the benefit of ‘their’ members!:wink:

Oh! And don’t forget the European Union!

20

IMO most shop stewards do nothing but look out for what they want 1st and foremost then if it suits will look at the rest.

and having been in a few disciplinaries would rather not take a shop steward into a meeting other than as a note taker (even asked one to leave once).

look at all the great britsh unionised sectors that we have now!

unions make money for themselves at the end of the day why do they find the money to donate to labour etc.