You have to love some Unions.

[El Presidente]

Now, I believe unions can be a force for good. 

However there is a line they cross where they are simply "taking the piss" of the public. 

New South Wales Rail workers have held Sydney to ransom for some time in a dispute with the government. 

Here is part of their log of claims. 

 

Log of claims | Sydney & NSW Trains Collective Agreement 2001

Table with 1 columns and 8 rows. Currently displaying rows 1 to 8.

• Increase night shift allowance by 15%
• Increase annual leave entitlement by one week
• Annual bonus payable for work performed during a public crisis
• Six R U OK Days a year for drivers when affected by fatigue or personal circumstances
• No medical certificate required for shift workers who call sick after a public holiday
• Other than genuine emergencies employees must not be contacted outside of work hours
• Provide quarterly reports to unions about the number of contractors engaged
• “Healthy options” meal allowance

Source: Financial Review

[NSXCIGAR]

Unions are one thing. Public sector unions are another. Wasn't the point of unions to fight against the big bad robber baron employers? No such thing in the public sector. It's much more politically expedient to just grant the union their demands. The bills don't come due until they're long out of office. 

At the very least public sector unions shouldn't be allowed to strike like police unions are prevented from doing. 

[DaBoot]

46 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Unions are one thing. Public sector unions are another. 

My thoughts exactly. Unions against the government, negotiated by politicians will drive all entities BROKE within 50 years.

[Chibearsv]

15 minutes ago, DaBoot said:

My thoughts exactly. Unions against the government, negotiated by politicians will drive all entities BROKE within 50 years.

Welcome to Chicago and Illinois 😢

[dominattorney]

17 minutes ago, DaBoot said:

My thoughts exactly. Unions against the government, negotiated by politicians will drive all entities BROKE within 50 years.

They also galvanize the public against unions in general. Which is truly a sad thing. 

[Fuzz]

Burn every union to the ground I say. They have completely stuffed up the entire country, especially the Maritime Union (MUA). I hate them the most.

You have to take your hat off to the cojones some of these unions have when putting up their demands. Last year, the MUA demanded:

“Recruitment will no longer be left to managerial prerogative, by ensuring 70 per cent of new recruits are put forward by workers and the union.”

What they wanted was 40% of new hires would be sourced from "family and friends", 30% from names nominated by the Union, and the other 30% by management. Basically 70% of new hires are not decided by the company.

Guess what? They got it. So now Hutchison no longer has any real control over who they hire. Oh, and they also got a pay rise for working shorter rosters.

I'd used some really harsh language, but the Forum filter would probably go into meltdown.

[cnov]

Definitely some unreasonable demands there, but I'm all for Unions, there are a lot of people out there getting their pants pulled down regularly. Unions have done a lot of good but they don't have the full weight of the right wing media in their corner.

Public sector workers like teachers and nurses here wouldn't know a proper pay rise if it slapped them I'm the face.

I feel like our economy would be in a better shape if the people at the bottom actually had some cash in their pockets to spend.

 

[PuroDiario]

58 minutes ago, DaBoot said:

My thoughts exactly. Unions against the government, negotiated by politicians will drive all entities BROKE within 50 years.

bienvenidos a España 

[mprach024]

Unions are obsolete.  Today the world is run by the loudest representatives of the few.  We should unionize to fight social media not businesses.   

[Bigkahuna]

1 hour ago, Fuzz said:

Burn every union to the ground I say. They have completely stuffed up the entire country, especially the Maritime Union (MUA). I hate them the most

I'd used some really harsh language, but the Forum filter would probably go into meltdown.

Fuzz for labor relations czar !!

Im sure there is an exception but every union I’ve ever encountered was a total cash grab. Either suck it up or seek employment elsewhere. Lord help us if tobacco rollers unite in the future lol 

[rcarlson]

My grandfather was a tool and die maker on the floor at Studebaker.  The union killed the company.  He went to his grave thinking it was justified.  He spent decades suffering.  Never understood, still don't.  

[Fuzz]

Unions only demand pay rises for their members, so their members have more money to pay for the increased union fees, which the union execs then pocket.

 

[mtd057]

1 hour ago, Chibearsv said:

Welcome to Chicago and Illinois 😢

I've been here just under a year, and I still can't believe how things run in this city 😲

[Cairo]

I am a total hypocrite on unions.

I hate them--for everybody else.

But--when I belonged to a union it was great--the bosses always tried to do a number on us and the union stopped them time after time.

"Where you stand depends on where you sit."

😉

[El Presidente]

“Healthy options” meal allowance

Spare me. 

I assume that would be a fillet of fish burger 🤣

[Ken Gargett]

1 hour ago, El Presidente said:

“Healthy options” meal allowance

Spare me. 

I assume that would be a fillet of fish burger 🤣

lite beer?

[El Presidente]

1 minute ago, Ken Gargett said:

lite beer?

I ...nor the majority of the populace have any idea what planet they are on?

Here's a hint. Pack and take your own "healthy meal".

[Ken Gargett]

2 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

I ...nor the majority of the populace have any idea what planet they are on?

Here's a hint. Pack and take your own "healthy meal".

if you ask them to do that, they are going to need a lot more than 6 R U OK days. 

[Duxnutz]

Happy Labor Day!!! 
 

Card carrying union member. 100% still necessary. Look at all the Union busting they’ve done at Qantas and the way that organisation is going. 

[El Presidente]

11 minutes ago, Duxnutz said:

Happy Labor Day!!! 
 

Card carrying union member. 100% still necessary. Look at all the Union busting they’ve done at Qantas and the way that organisation is going. 

....tell me you don't get a "Healthy Options" meal allowance 

[RDB]

Unions have been absolutely central to achieving basic employment rights in many countries. Rights to reasonable hours and paid holidays. Rights to safety at work - it’s easy to moan about ‘elf and safety gone mad, but massive numbers of people die or get horribly injured at work in countries that don’t have or don’t enforce those laws. How do we feel about rights to fair treatment, stable employment and no arbitrary dismissal? Unions also stand up for individuals when their employer tries to screw them.

Of course they argue for more pay for their members. Is that always justified? Nope. Is the current level of senior executive pay justifiable? Or the global concentration of asset ownership? Billionaires don’t like unions and some put huge efforts into undermining them. But unless you want a world where the balance of power tips more and more to the big owners of capital, and work becomes more precarious and poorly paid, you might value some counter-weight… 

[El Presidente]

6 minutes ago, RDB said:

Unions have been absolutely central to achieving basic employment rights in many countries.

 

Never argued. Wholly agree. 

However once they carry on like they are in NSW Rail, it is game over. They are being paid by the taxpayer....not the NSW Government. They are shooting themselves in the foot. They are taking the piss out of working people everywhere....who are paying them. 

Governments who rollover to such slimy demands should be sued by the taxpayer. 

There needs to be "balance".  Employers and Unions need to both be prosecuted if they cross the line. 

 

 

[Fuzz]

In 1st world countries where fair work and employees rights are legislated, unions are an anachronism. Australia has been ground to a halt because of unions.

The last 2 years we have had the least number of containers come into the country, yet the MUA demanded more pay for less hours, the right to cronyism, protection from automation that would have improved efficiency and safety of workers, plus a whole lot of stuff that never made a lick of sense. Shipping lines were being held up for double the amount of time they would normally have needed to get around Australia, so they kept omitting ports, reducing services and increased shipping rates to compensate for their increased expenses. Shipping lines are now taking advantage of the situation by blaming the unions, so they can keep their rates high.

MUA workers have been going slow ever since their agreements ended in 2020, so what used to take 2 hours is now taking 6. And guess what? The Transport Workers Union (TWU) are now claiming they need pay increases because of long hours stuck at the ports. And since ports are congested, Patricks and Hutchison are putting on port congestion charges.

So every business that imports goods now have to pay even more for their containers. And guess who has to pay for all of it? The consumers. So that 6% pay increase will now be spent on the 20- 50% increase in the cost of goods. Bravo unions, bravo.

[El Presidente]

4 hours ago, Fuzz said:

So every business that imports goods now have to pay even more for their containers. And guess who has to pay for all of it? The consumers. So that 6% pay increase will now be spent on the 20- 50% increase in the cost of goods. Bravo unions, bravo.

It is the over reach that will decimate them, businesses and in the end the employee. I am only talking about the worst of them here. The Rail Unions, Electical Unions, Construction Unions and the Maritime Union. This is Oz specific. 

They are stand over merchants pure and simple. The executive of those unions are thugs and far removed from a tool/wharf/sleeper/power point. 

The price is paid by the consumer in the end through higher costs. 

Note the unions listed? They are some of the few where business cannot move themselves offshore to avoid being blackmailed. Most of the other "productivity" unions (boilermaker/textile etc) are long finished. 

Fight for fair wages and conditions. Fight for work security. God bless you and I am right behind you.

Start fighting for healthy meal allowances and to stop an employer asking for a doctors certificate after you have called in sick after every public holiday and you are a bludger. You are a POS thief. 

 

[Cigar-Therapy]

11 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Six R U OK Days a year for drivers when affected by fatigue or personal circumstances

AKA ‘Mental Health Days’ … just call it what it is - a few extra PTO days to take off.  
I’ve done it - especially when school starts back after the summer break or Christmas holiday.  

Or if a big video game drop is happening, so I can start playing right at midnight.