For the second time in my life I've rejoined USDAW. And certainly this time I joined the blurb from union officials about why you should joinwas much better. We were told tales about how the union defended people at disciplinaries and how that was why we should join the union - 6 out of 7 of us new recruits joined. This was much better than when I joined last time - when the rep was talking to a load of 17/18 year olds that they should join USDAW for the free will writing service! I only joined after I managed to get it out of the rep that the union negotiated wage increases.
But that is the key thing really, the person who came to speak to us the other day was boasting of the unions partnership with the bosses and boasted of getting a 4% wage increase - to £5.52 an hour - the minimum wage! With fuel, food and the prices of just about everything else going up - a decent minimum wage of at £6.50 an hour if not more which some of the main unions demand will become more and more necessary.
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2 comments:
Well, good luck getting USDAW to do anything.
I remember a mate of mine telling me that the first things the USDAW rep told him when he started working at Sainsbury's was that unions shouldn't be 'political' (!!!) and that their role was to work with management as closely as possible.
Jesus - what with the "boasting of the unions partnership with the bosses" quote and Duncans poor mate above, you've got to wonder where they (USDAW) are heading.
When trying to recruit people to Unite I deliberately don't go for the 'free will writing services', cheap insurance or whatever else deals as, to me, they are not what a union is, or should be, about. I try to politicise the members in the building I am rep for if only to get them to think.
Unfortunately, it seems that, with union membership numbers low and dropping, they are adopting the New Labour policy of try to be everything to all people at all times - but it doesn't work. As Labour are currently demonstrating.
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