On Tue, 14 Jul 2015 20:19:16 +0100
Eric wrote:
On 2015-07-14, y wrote:
On Mon, 13 Jul 2015 18:46:28 +0100
Eric wrote:
On 2015-07-13, y wrote:
8 --------
I'm not sure whats less surprising - the fact that the drivers operate
a closed shop or that LU gave into their demands for it.
Total failure to understand what unions are about or why they were
started. And don't bother to say that they have gone too far
Whats that got to do with operating closed shops?
As I said, total failure to understand.
Well go on then, explain.
Well I've never belonged to one and have done alright.
You work in an industry where the "right skills" are a moving target and
there are always shortages, especially of people who have the skills on
paper _and_ enough common sense and experience to use them sensibly. The
majority of my life has been spent as an IT contractor, and I've done
alright too.
However before I did that I did something else, and I was not only a
union member but the site union rep. Now I have taken a salaried IT job
as a fade-to-retirement, and I am once again a union member.
Well I've been an IT contractor and a permie and at no time have I felt the
need to join a union. I've walked away from a couple of jobs I didn't like
and gone and got another instead of making a fuss and insisting that the
company change the job spec and rules - which were clearly stated on the
contract before I started - just to suit me.
You could argue that unions are for people too stupid to understand the
details in a job contract.
No, unions are for people who are (at least theoretically) interchangeable
and easily replaceable, and therefore have no negotiating power
individually. Understanding the contract, which doesn't exist in a legal
sense anyway, is beside the point, since they won't change it just
Most people are ultimately replacable. And job contracts ARE legally binding
and if either the employee or the employer breaks the contract in any way it
can lead to dismissal or grounds to the the company to court.
for you and the ability to shop around for a better one is extremely
limited. And even the stupid deserve a fair rate of pay.
The stupid are protected by job contracts and the law. Its not the 19th
century any more.
--
Spud