Unions "what have they done for us??"

[El Cid]

I agree but highlighting the examples I mentioned above they have way too much power and strike for stupid reasons. The thieving bus driver and tube driver over the limit are two of the stupidest I have read about.

 

The union questioned the effectiveness of the breathalyser equipment used, warning that health conditions such as diabetes could give false positive results.

I did google for a union news site for their side, the union did offer to take binding arbitration from ACAS.

[Gamston]

The EU does a lot more for global capitalists than it has ever done for the working man. Like allowing them to avoid paying billions in tax by registering their headquarters in tax havens like Luxembourg.

 

Today's unions may be pretty dire but they did a lot for ordinary people in the past.[/QUOTE]

 

Yes , they were great in the past for ordinary people . Unfortunately this week many ordinary people have had operations cancelled as a consequence of Unions .

[Mister M]

I agree but highlighting the examples I mentioned above they have way too much power and strike for stupid reasons. The thieving bus driver and tube driver over the limit are two of the stupidest I have read about.

 

Though to balance things out a little, many companies in the construction industry (e.g. Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Kier, Laing O’Rourke, McAlpine), blacklisted over 3,000 unionised workers over many years. Consequently those workers were denied work for years as a result. The 'crime' of these unionised workers, apart from being unionised workers in the first place, was to highlight lax Health and Safety procedures, in an industry notorious for injuries: (for example, the average death rate in the industry averages about 150 per year).

That kind of puts the well publicised case of the thieving drivers into context.

[El Cid]

The EU does a lot more for global capitalists than it has ever done for the working man. Like allowing them to avoid paying billions in tax by registering their headquarters in tax havens like Luxembourg.

 

Today's unions may be pretty dire but they did a lot for ordinary people in the past.[/QUOTE]

 

Yes , they were great in the past for ordinary people . Unfortunately this week many ordinary people have had operations cancelled as a consequence of Jeremy Hunt .

 

Why blame the unions?

[Berberis]

Unions are the largest voluntary organisation in the country.

They will not be made illegal.

There are many illegal practices that some people engage in that should be clamped down on. The freedom to associate isn't one of them.

 

By what measure?

 

---------- Post added 01-12-2015 at 20:00 ----------

 

With another Trade Union bill going through Parliament, I think it's worth remembering just a few things that British trade unions have achieved - especially as these are largely ignored in the biased media coverage:

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/09/15/trade-union-bill-9-things-theyve-done-that-have-change-work-for-us-all_n_8141778.html

 

I see a lot of past glories and laying claim to changes that were called for by more than just the unions.

 

A century ago they did fight for some very worthwhile causes but today they seem mired in stubbornness and self preservation rather then fighting any real cause. Maybe the time of the Union is over. What relevance are Unions today?

[samssong]

I agree but highlighting the examples I mentioned above they have way too much power and strike for stupid reasons. The thieving bus driver and tube driver over the limit are two of the stupidest I have read about.

While fiddling M.P's and House of Lords thieves [spongers] get away with slapped wrists.

Add to this that great socialist Tony Blaire who on a daily basis increases his millions by stabbing in the back the very people who voted for him.

Yes the thieving bus driver or drunk tube driver are a bloody disgrace but they are a drop in the Ocean when compared to the real fiddlers in our society.

[Mister M]

By what measure?

 

---------- Post added 01-12-2015 at 20:00 ----------

 

 

I see a lot of past glories and laying claim to changes that were called for by more than just the unions.

 

A century ago they did fight for some very worthwhile causes but today they seem mired in stubbornness and self preservation rather then fighting any real cause. Maybe the time of the Union is over. What relevance are Unions today?

 

With regard to your first point, I was merely quoting what the current Conservative Deputy Chairman recently said of trade unions.

Secondly, UCATT were instrumental in fighting for the rights of the blacklisted Construction workers I quoted above, ensuring that their reputations weren't traduced, and secured compensation for them. I'd say that's a good example of their relevance today, and of them 'fighting a real cause'.

Edited December 1, 2015 by Mister M

[max]

?

 

The big battles may be won but without Trades Unions many of the gains will be lost. We need them more than ever now with global companies threatening to reduce all workers' rights.

[El Cid]

Maybe the time of the Union is over. What relevance are Unions today?

 

The cheapest union is around £7 per month, do millions of people pay for something that has no value?

Didnt David Cameron say that he was going to form a union?

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34407971

 

---------- Post added 01-12-2015 at 20:23 ----------

 

Trade unions

 

Halfon is a member of the Prospect trade union[17] and a campaigner for Conservative supporters to become more involved in trade unions.[18][19] In 2012, he published a pamphlet through the thinktank Demos called Stop the Union Bashing: Why Conservatives Should Embrace the Trade Union Movement, which relayed the history of trade unionism in the Conservative Party, and called for these links to be revived.[20]

Edited December 1, 2015 by El Cid

[Harrystottle]

 

The big battles may be won but without Trades Unions many of the gains will be lost. We need them more than ever now with global companies threatening to reduce all workers' rights.

 

This is true.