4 more bank holidays!

[Padders]

I agree.

 

Never have Unions been more needed to stand up for the rights of the workers.

 

I have never seen the working population; the real generators of wealth, more cowed, demoralised and subservient. People need to realise the big corporate bosses never give you anything, you have to fight every inch for it.

 

'Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men, for the nastiest of motives, will somehow work for the benefit of all.'

John Maynard Keynes.

 

 

anna just love your posts, we would be in a right state without unions,

[Michael_W]

anna just love your posts, we would be in a right state without unions,

 

You mean we would have been !

I am an ex union member, worked in factories all my working life where people had and still do have, but to a lesser degree, hazardous, dirty, working conditions and dangerous occupations ..... the unions were more necessary in the past than what they are now IMHO !

The unions of today talk of past glories, many of the members today have fought for very little in comparison to previous generations, the laws, regulations and legislation in place today ensure that people work in safer, healthier environments than they have ever done before, with a reasonable amount of paid holidays, with extended maternity/paternity leave even sick pay and shorter and more flexible working hours ....... tell me what do the unions of today negotiate and win on any grand scale

[I1L2T3]

You mean we would have been !

I am an ex union member, worked in factories all my working life where people had and still do have, but to a lesser degree, hazardous, dirty, working conditions and dangerous occupations ..... the unions were more necessary in the past than what they are now IMHO !

The unions of today talk of past glories, many of the members today have fought for very little in comparison to previous generations, the laws, regulations and legislation in place today ensure that people work in safer, healthier environments than they have ever done before, with a reasonable amount of paid holidays, with extended maternity/paternity leave even sick pay and shorter and more flexible working hours ....... tell me what do the unions of today negotiate and win on any grand scale

 

If you take the unions away there you remove one of the brakes on the excesses of employers.

 

We see it every week in the news, with workers having to fight for basic rights. Stuff like the right to be even called an employee, or have sick pay, or holidays. When employers go too far these fights start to happen again. Ok some of those fighting are not in official unions but effectively they are combining, and combination is a precursor to organised unions.

 

I think the basic mistake you are making is to assume that all the hard work is finished, that rights have been won now and won't be taken away again. I don't think you could be more wrong because those rights would be removed in a heartbeat by government and employers if they thought they could get away with it.

[Michael_W]

If you take the unions away there you remove one of the brakes on the excesses of employers.

 

We see it every week in the news, with workers having to fight for basic rights. Stuff like the right to be even called an employee, or have sick pay, or holidays. When employers go too far these fights start to happen again. Ok some of those fighting are not in official unions but effectively they are combining, and combination is a precursor to organised unions.

 

I think the basic mistake you are making is to assume that all the hard work is finished, that rights have been won now and won't be taken away again. I don't think you could be more wrong because those rights would be removed in a heartbeat by government and employers if they thought they could get away with it.

 

I disagree, plenty of workers rights are now set by government legislation, I doubt that any British government would rescind those rights in a heartbeat, we have moved on. I appreciate that some employers try things on but any individual can check acas and government websites to know their rights, regardless of union membership, and if they are wronged can act upon it.

I am not against union membership, I just don't see it as a strong arm it once was, they have generally been put in their place after the farcical 70s and early 80s.

[Anna B]

I disagree, plenty of workers rights are now set by government legislation, I doubt that any British government would rescind those rights in a heartbeat, we have moved on. I appreciate that some employers try things on but any individual can check acas and government websites to know their rights, regardless of union membership, and if they are wronged can act upon it.

I am not against union membership, I just don't see it as a strong arm it once was, they have generally been put in their place after the farcical 70s and early 80s.

 

Plenty of workers rights might be set by legislation, but that doesn't mean they are acted upon, or work in the way they were supposed to work.

Employers certainly do try it on, and running to check the paperwork is not going to save you. It will simply mark you out as one to get rid of asap.

 

Have you not heard of the various employers' scams to designate people as 'self employed' thereby getting round workers rights altogether? And the proliferation of 0 hours which also negates workers rights? And working for the Agency that finds you the job, not the employer? The tricks are endless and as soon as one loophole is closed another opens.

 

The bottom line is we live in an age of fewer jobs and too many workers so employers have the upper hand and can pick and chose. They are going to chose the person who will work for less and cause them the least trouble.

[Jeffrey Shaw]

Better: abolish Bank Holidays as an archaism AND add eight days- compulsorily- to everyone's annual leave.

[El Cid]

Better: abolish Bank Holidays as an archaism AND add eight days- compulsorily- to everyone's annual leave.

 

What are the actual rules around bank holidays?

 

Are employers forced to give workers these holidays, of pay double time? Because many do work on bank holidays.

[Anna B]

I think that used to be the case, but I doubt it is now.

 

Same as you couldn't be forced to work on a Sunday, and got extra pay if you did.

No longer the case, it's now just like any other day of the week or so I'm told.

[sgtkate]

Better: abolish Bank Holidays as an archaism AND add eight days- compulsorily- to everyone's annual leave.

 

Employers and employees have no legal right to take bank holidays on those days already. The minimum annual leave amount includes bank holidays as a part of the standard entitlement. It's only 'tradition' that keeps them as they are.

 

And I'm torn on whether I'd prefer to have them as just normal leave days or keep them as they are for me. There's something particularly lovely about a bank holiday weekend, meeting up with friends in a park on a Monday most of whom are also off is something that wouldn't happen at all if we had those bank holidays simply amalgamated into standard leave, we'd never all take the same day off! But equally the added flexibility of having those extra days when you need them and not worrying about childcare cover (most nurseries are closed on bank holidays) is the flip side...

Edited May 2, 2017 by sgtkate

[Anna B]

Employers and employees have no legal right to take bank holidays on those days already. The minimum annual leave amount includes bank holidays as a part of the standard entitlement. It's only 'tradition' that keeps them as they are.

 

And I'm torn on whether I'd prefer to have them as just normal leave days or keep them as they are for me. There's something particularly lovely about a bank holiday weekend, meeting up with friends in a park on a Monday most of whom are also off is something that wouldn't happen at all if we had those bank holidays simply amalgamated into standard leave, we'd never all take the same day off! But equally the added flexibility of having those extra days when you need them and not worrying about childcare cover (most nurseries are closed on bank holidays) is the flip side...

 

Good points. I'd never thought of that.