Why the need for unions when we have politicians? After all, it was politicians who were the first to fight for an end to child labour, equal rights for women in the workplace, health and safety regulations in dangerous industries such as mining, the minimum wage, the right to fair representation at work, the right to paid maternity, paternity and adoptive leave etc. etc.



But seriously, it's depressingly obvious the only thing several contributors to this discussion know about unions is what they've been told. Perhaps they should educate themselves on the history of the labour movement in Britain (including its achievements and defeats) instead of witlessly regurgitating the same baseless, uncorroborated nonsense that's been passed about ever since the thirties and fourties when corporations realised they could achieve greater successes against organised labour using carefully crafted PR (or propaganda) than with gangs of thugs wielding blackjacks.

or maybe, just maybe, people can talk of their own experiences?



my experiences of Unions are, largely, positive, but when you get some local rep who has an agenda (and no f'ng brain) you can't make any progress.



maybe Mintball can tell us which part of the public sector usually vote, on mass, for strikes, and then get double time to work the weekend as they deliver a statutory duty?

There's nothing wrong with conveying your personal experiences, provided they then aren't held as representative of the wider union movement whose actions, ideology and history you know little about.

you're making an assumption about my knowledge, based on what?

So stress is more prevalent in the public sector!!!





Have you got any evidence to back that up - no just another pointless ramble showing isolated cases, just like your rant about the Olympics because some food stall guy had to move for two weeks - it would be funny if it weren't so sad.



Nissan has a no strike arrangement with Unite - so effectively the union are just lap dogs - explains why the plant is so successful.



Just answer the question about the trains - not some clap trap about why it should be in public ownership - some public sector employees struggled to use Excel correctly. Interesting though how performance on the trains has improved since competition was introduced - bad stuff that competition.



Has the press ever been in public ownership? so they behaved like they always have like a private company - not sure what your point is, most scoop journalists are the pits no matter which paper they write for.



On the police - Bettinson has been forced to retire because of Hillsborough - you read into that what you like, and Sean Price was fired last week for numerous issues one of which was forcing colleagues to lie.



On the Germans suggest you dig out a Newsnight piece on Karcher where the balance of power in Germany between the unions and the bosses is very succinctly explained.



The private sector has its issues - but the public sector is not a model anyone would want to follow - it has been tried and failed miserably. The fact you thinking we should expand it shows you live in a fantasy land far from the "Real World"

The sickness rates.

OK





Nothing to do with the fact that he is under investigation by his local police authority and IPCC then?



Jumping (with full pension) before he gets pushed...

Might just be something you've posted on this topic.

[url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/oct/17/tradeunions-tuc-gmb-nestle-york-protes-marchGMB and Nestlé – reaching agreements together.[/url

I've seen both the good and bad side of unions. Bad, in terms of representing people who have deliberately chosen not to follow organisation rules but I've also seen others persuade guilty parties to admit their offences too so it's not that straightforward. Similarly, I've seen them defend innocent workers exceptionally well against belligerent managers who have a chip on their shoulder against somebody. I've seen them represent people who've been bullied, exploited, assaulted and harassed (both sexually and racially). Unions perform a very important activity in this society and without them we'd still all be living like it was Wigan Pier.

There's plenty who still wish we were.

Maybe they should read GO's book or be transported back in time to be a guest at Mr & Mrs Brookers lodgings.



Nice tripe, shame about the constant black thumbprint in the bread.

Which is arguably what many lawyers do in some cases.









Completely agree on this, though. Of course unions are not perfect – no organisation or company etc is.