Bob Crow dead.

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
81

George@ASDA driver:

Slackbladder:
Fast forward to 2005 & working for ASDA, little money & shiney trucks, not. Less than 25% of the workforce were union members, they managed to get over 200 employees made redundant as they didn’t fancy a new contract that would bring them into line with the other depots in the area. Unions for the workers, don’t make me laugh.

Now let’s fast forward to current day ASDA.

All depot now have Union recognition. We were the last depot to ballot for it.

Currently we have

A good hourly rate.
An insult of £1.80 per hour overtime
An insult of £4.80 per hour for bank holiday*
Overtime is after 45 hours, but if you get overtime at the start of the week, they can send you home early later in the week to claw it back.
No sick pay for 1st 3 days.
13 weeks sick pay per year

Now we have union recognition and will entering the national agreement in May we will get.

A slightly better good hourly rate.
£5.10 per hour overtime
Double time for bank hols plus a day in lieu.*
Guaranteed full days work. Overtime is safe. If you finish early you sit and wait for your 9 hours to finish.
Full Sick pay from day one
26 weeks sick pay per year.

*everyone gets £4.80 per hour. Which means the warehouse staff actually get more % increase!!! Getting double time means everyone gets the same % increase which is fair.

You wanted a good union story. There you have it.

The only drivers who haven’t joined, (but of course will take the extra money the union has worked to get for them) are the same ones who worry about mpg and who have their heads firmly wedged up the managers back side.

Nice one George :wink:

82

Rhythm Thief:

sime17:

switchlogic:
Post Office hasn’t been privatised so not sure which EU legislation one is referring to exactly.

Not that I’m agreeing with any of the anti or pro-Crow stuff (Rip Bob), but see the link below - I think you must have been out of the country at the time Luke:

telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ … under.html

I had Bertie down as a probable investor :slight_smile:

I think what Luke was getting at was that the Royal Mail has been privatised, but not the Post Office. Though I may be wrong.

Yes. The Post Office is different to Royal Mail. I would have expected such a formidably intelligent and esteemed member as Happy Shopper to know this. Esp since he blamed non existent legislation for a non existent privatisation. The Post Office hasn’t been or is planned to be privatised

83

There is no doubt in my mind that Bob was the most successful union leader of our time.He did what he was paid to do,and achieved massive gains for his members.
Does any one really think he would achieved anything like that success for another section of the UK workforce eg. lorry drivers,or was a big part of what he achieved due to having " a huge stick " to wave ? . Londoners and their elected mayor etc being terrified of losing there tube service even for a day.
Regards John.

84

RIP Bob Crow!

85

old 67:
There is no doubt in my mind that Bob was the most successful union leader of our time.He did what he was paid to do,and achieved massive gains for his members.
Does any one really think he would achieved anything like that success for another section of the UK workforce eg. lorry drivers,or was a big part of what he achieved due to having " a huge stick " to wave ? . Londoners and their elected mayor etc being terrified of losing there tube service even for a day.
Regards John.

I dont know wether he could have acheived as nuch elsewhere, partly because workers dont unite these days, we allow ourselves to be divided. From what I’ve heard the membership of the RMT has doubled since 2002 when he became GS, most other unions are struggling to keep members let alone recruit new.

I also think that if the TFL and the Mayor, had wanted to refuse any wage increase, the Tory Government would have used austerity and the right wing press to shaft the underground drivers, and Bob and RMT with them. I reckon the truth is that TFL understood theyre true value, and with a decent well supported leader they were able to acheive what they are worth :wink:

86

George@ASDA driver:

Slackbladder:
Fast forward to 2005 & working for ASDA, little money & shiney trucks, not. Less than 25% of the workforce were union members, they managed to get over 200 employees made redundant as they didn’t fancy a new contract that would bring them into line with the other depots in the area. Unions for the workers, don’t make me laugh.

Now let’s fast forward to current day ASDA.

All depot now have Union recognition. We were the last depot to ballot for it.

Currently we have

A good hourly rate.
An insult of £1.80 per hour overtime
An insult of £4.80 per hour for bank holiday*
Overtime is after 45 hours, but if you get overtime at the start of the week, they can send you home early later in the week to claw it back.
No sick pay for 1st 3 days.
13 weeks sick pay per year

Now we have union recognition and will entering the national agreement in May we will get.

A slightly better good hourly rate.
£5.10 per hour overtime
Double time for bank hols plus a day in lieu.*
Guaranteed full days work. Overtime is safe. If you finish early you sit and wait for your 9 hours to finish.
Full Sick pay from day one
26 weeks sick pay per year.

*everyone gets £4.80 per hour. Which means the warehouse staff actually get more % increase!!! Getting double time means everyone gets the same % increase which is fair.

You wanted a good union story. There you have it.

The only drivers who haven’t joined, (but of course will take the extra money the union has worked to get for them) are the same ones who worry about mpg and who have their heads firmly wedged up the managers back side.

Wow you done quite well there. When I was there from 02 to 05 we got:
A decent basic
Time & half for any overtime, added after your 45 hrs, never sent home early to compensate.
Double time & day in lieu for bank holiday. If you were rotaf

87

George@ASDA driver:

Slackbladder:
Fast forward to 2005 & working for ASDA, little money & shiney trucks, not. Less than 25% of the workforce were union members, they managed to get over 200 employees made redundant as they didn’t fancy a new contract that would bring them into line with the other depots in the area. Unions for the workers, don’t make me laugh.

Now let’s fast forward to current day ASDA.

All depot now have Union recognition. We were the last depot to ballot for it.

Currently we have

A good hourly rate.
An insult of £1.80 per hour overtime
An insult of £4.80 per hour for bank holiday*
Overtime is after 45 hours, but if you get overtime at the start of the week, they can send you home early later in the week to claw it back.
No sick pay for 1st 3 days.
13 weeks sick pay per year

Now we have union recognition and will entering the national agreement in May we will get.

A slightly better good hourly rate.
£5.10 per hour overtime
Double time for bank hols plus a day in lieu.*
Guaranteed full days work. Overtime is safe. If you finish early you sit and wait for your 9 hours to finish.
Full Sick pay from day one
26 weeks sick pay per year.

*everyone gets £4.80 per hour. Which means the warehouse staff actually get more % increase!!! Getting double time means everyone gets the same % increase which is fair.

You wanted a good union story. There you have it.

The only drivers who haven’t joined, (but of course will take the extra money the union has worked to get for them) are the same ones who worry about mpg and who have their heads firmly wedged up the managers back side.

I have to say I’m loving these stories, takes me back to the days of jackanory on tv when I was younger.
Wow you done quite well there. When I was there from 02 to 05 we got:
A decent basic
Time & half for any overtime, added after your 45 hrs, never sent home early to compensate.
Double time & day in lieu for bank holiday. If you were on rota to work you could opt for triple time, if you were off anyway you got double time & day in lieu on first day back.
Full sick pay from day one, for six months
Benidorm leave. Staff over 55 could take 2 months off over the Xmas period and job was guaranteed on return.
So the union have done well to get you up to a standard ASDA were at over 10 years ago. Why do they never try & take ASDA on to get pay parity amongst all workers countrywide? Surely, if the union lovers are to be believed, solidarity amongst all members nationwide would be to their advantage. At the moment they all work as individual outposts so trying to get support from colleagues elsewhere was a waste of time, they never wanted to know just incase it upset their little deals. Typically an “I’m alright jack” approach from small minded union people.
I will take it these union giants are the gmb? They were the only ones Walmart would accept. Are they still based in Leeds? Used to be at ASDA house! Oops
I always find it odd that all terms & conditions are explained during the interview process, even explained in a written document which employees are happy to sign, that’s a contract btw, only to find that after a short while they aren’t happy with the Ts&Cs.
I know people on here like to pigeon hole people that don’t agree with them but I’ve never took much notice of mpg & in 3 years never spoke to the transport manager even once. I did walk past his desk a couple of times though.
Right I’m off to check to see if I have grown any more ■■■■■.

88

A great post, and looking at some of the comments on here made me smile, there was one who stated the Capitalist were allowed to buy their council house and sell it for a profit, i was one of those who had the chance to get on the house buying ladder and i thank Maggie for that, and thought she was one of the greatest politicians of her time, afraid of no one who disliked change.
Then we have the supporters of Mr Crow, the man whos last strike was to stop the modernisation of the tube network, where management wanted to introduce automation at ticket offices, he said no, my members want to sit on their arses, drinking tea and coffee, and generally ignoring anyone who wanted to buy a ticket ( my view ) automation speeds things up and why shouldnt it go ahead, he was also responsible for the automated signal boxes, so he couldnt stop that change could he, or maybe it was his cronies. Bob Crow, cared about his members, so would anyone on £110 grand a year plus expenses, just for being outspoken. We would love someone like that to run the transport union, really ! then why are so many members on here against union recognition, or to even unite to become one.
Back in the 70s we had strikes, we had fights for our rights, didnt change much did it, we still dont get the recognition we deserve, and we were the losers, all strikers are the ones who lose, remember the post stike, the first for many years, all those contributions, yet when they asked for strike pay, there wasnt any ?
A union is as strong as its members, no leader can ever call a strike, he may threaten, but its the members who call the shots, but the faith they had in their leaders, gave them strike action, and it ends in a short time, mainly because government caves in, because of the inconvenience to the travelling public, and also because it would cost the union strike funds. I believe the tube workers ( train drivers ) deserve their average £45 grand a year, the same as the 999 workers also deserve a good wage, but we should also be included as we also do a well deserved job, but where is our recognition, it wasnt through the Black book licence we were promised, it wasnt through the new EU licence, or the DCPC that will give us anymore status than what we have got. The whole industry needs a new injection or young blood, get rid of the old habits, train drivers on how to use the toilets, instead of wheels and parking places, train drivers on where to put their rubbish and ■■■■ bottles, in other words, a new image is needed, and shake off the one we have now. There are many on here who slate Stobart, but look at the image, thats how all of us should be like, smart uniform, smart trucks and trailers, whereas a great deal of the equipment you see on the road is a total disgrace. Whenever we travelled abroad, we were a disgrace compared to the Germans, Austrians etc, even the old Commies had better looking equipment, ours were dirty, shabby, rusty, and of course the old joke, we also never had enough money. Things are improving a bit, but we`ve a long way to go before we get a really good wage to go with a new image of the uk transport industry.
I dont know how Mr Crow died, someone told me it was blocked tubes.

89

Good post Trucky,but I draw a line at wearing the tie. :laughing:

But seriously; In Tribute to the passing of Bob Crow. I’ll walk to work tomorrow. It’s what he always wanted! :blush:

90

Yep, automation is wonderful. Soon enough we will have automated most semi skilled and unskilled jobs out of existence. Hurray. Not sure who’d buy stuff and travel mind you but it will be so great when machines can do all our jobs and we can just sit at home eating pot noodle. After all we wont be able to afford much else.

91

brados:
Regardless of his personal situation he did a good job for the drivers on the underground, don’t you wish there was someone like him to stand up for drivers?

It just shows that when they open the big book and your name is on the page then that’s your lot.

My thoughts are with his family despite my personal feelings.

It was the people behind him that did the good job …

92

Slackbladder:

George@ASDA driver:

Slackbladder:
Fast forward to 2005 & working for ASDA, little money & shiney trucks, not. Less than 25% of the workforce were union members, they managed to get over 200 employees made redundant as they didn’t fancy a new contract that would bring them into line with the other depots in the area. Unions for the workers, don’t make me laugh.

Now let’s fast forward to current day ASDA.

All depot now have Union recognition. We were the last depot to ballot for it.

Currently we have

A good hourly rate.
An insult of £1.80 per hour overtime
An insult of £4.80 per hour for bank holiday*
Overtime is after 45 hours, but if you get overtime at the start of the week, they can send you home early later in the week to claw it back.
No sick pay for 1st 3 days.
13 weeks sick pay per year

Now we have union recognition and will entering the national agreement in May we will get.

A slightly better good hourly rate.
£5.10 per hour overtime
Double time for bank hols plus a day in lieu.*
Guaranteed full days work. Overtime is safe. If you finish early you sit and wait for your 9 hours to finish.
Full Sick pay from day one
26 weeks sick pay per year.

*everyone gets £4.80 per hour. Which means the warehouse staff actually get more % increase!!! Getting double time means everyone gets the same % increase which is fair.

You wanted a good union story. There you have it.

The only drivers who haven’t joined, (but of course will take the extra money the union has worked to get for them) are the same ones who worry about mpg and who have their heads firmly wedged up the managers back side.

I have to say I’m loving these stories, takes me back to the days of jackanory on tv when I was younger.
Wow you done quite well there. When I was there from 02 to 05 we got:
A decent basic
Time & half for any overtime, added after your 45 hrs, never sent home early to compensate.
Double time & day in lieu for bank holiday. If you were on rota to work you could opt for triple time, if you were off anyway you got double time & day in lieu on first day back.
Full sick pay from day one, for six months
Benidorm leave. Staff over 55 could take 2 months off over the Xmas period and job was guaranteed on return.
So the union have done well to get you up to a standard ASDA were at over 10 years ago. Why do they never try & take ASDA on to get pay parity amongst all workers countrywide? Surely, if the union lovers are to be believed, solidarity amongst all members nationwide would be to their advantage. At the moment they all work as individual outposts so trying to get support from colleagues elsewhere was a waste of time, they never wanted to know just incase it upset their little deals. Typically an “I’m alright jack” approach from small minded union people.
I will take it these union giants are the gmb? They were the only ones Walmart would accept. Are they still based in Leeds? Used to be at ASDA house! Oops
I always find it odd that all terms & conditions are explained during the interview process, even explained in a written document which employees are happy to sign, that’s a contract btw, only to find that after a short while they aren’t happy with the Ts&Cs.
I know people on here like to pigeon hole people that don’t agree with them but I’ve never took much notice of mpg & in 3 years never spoke to the transport manager even once. I did walk past his desk a couple of times though.
Right I’m off to check to see if I have grown any more ■■■■■.

Lol you’ll probably understand what some unions do when you start wearing long trousers

93

Ok grandad, I’ve put my longs on, feel free to enlighten me on how , these days a union helps me. Im only interested as membership has been in decline for years, just like membership of the labour party. You know the one st bob took HIS union out of. I wonder how much discussion went on with the members of his union about that decision. Hurry up I’ve got homework to do.

94

Slackbladder:
That’s a lovely story, nearly brought a tear to my japs eye. You know nothing about me & what I work for, but feel free to keep jumping to conclusion, it’ll keep you fit.
My experiences with unions have always been negative, they only want to support a colleague when it suit their needs. As a teenager in the 70s I got offered a job in an engineering works, wasn’t allowed to start as I wasn’t a union member, went to join the union but was told I couldn’t as I didn’t have a job! When I did get a job the union had us out, unpaid, on a regular basis, not for us mind, but to support other companies as a show of solidarity. Meetings were a waste of time, agenda was already set by the committee , and any questions or discussions were frowned on, basically just a hands up exercise for the sheep.
Fast forward to 2005 & working for ASDA, little money & shiney trucks, not. Less than 25% of the workforce were union members, they managed to get over 200 employees made redundant as they didn’t fancy a new contract that would bring them into line with the other depots in the area. Unions for the workers, don’t make me laugh.

Let me ask you a question.
Why was it crap then?
The reason it was crap was not because you were in a union as such,
you were in the wrong bloody union! :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
I wouldn’t have the pay and conditions I enjoy today if weren’t for the RMT!

95

How ironic, he died from a blockage in the tubes.
His family would like time alone, and 2 days off over easter.

96

Muckaway:
How ironic, he died from a blockage in the tubes.
His family would like time alone, and 2 days off over easter.

muckaway really ? is this a time for cheep jokes a man has died regardless what we may or may not think of him or his politics a little respect a

97

Why was it crap? Good question, it was crap because the shop stewart was more interested in avoiding work & eating pies than doing anything for his members. Why the members put up with him I’ll never know but, as usual, it was a case of the majority being so disinterested in what the union got up to that they just went along with anything. If any of the drivers or warehouse staff went to him with a genuine grievance he just went through the motions of doing anything for them, never actually got a result for them in my time. After rejecting a new pay deal the company announced redundancys, the non union staff were advised & encouraged to join as they would be looked after, & some did join. Imagine their surprise when attending union meetings over the next 90 days, the length of the notice period, only to find that the upcoming loss of workers wasn’t even on the agenda. That said the gmb, yes the gmb, authorised 2 one day stoppages, without pay obviously, & 1 three day stoppage, ooh just short of the time when the union would have to pay out cash to strikers, as a token effort. And no, I didn’t cross the picket line before you start jumping again.
Now as for having a crap union, yes you are correct the gmb are crap, that’s why they are the only union allowed in the depots. The company know they will get little trouble from them as they are toothless & ineffective. The union are happy to be there & not rock the boat as they have a sheep like membership.
My question again then, if they want to be effective & help the membership why don’t they persue a national agreement to get all the workers on the same terms & conditions.
As for a little respect for the man, he’ll get the same amount he gave Maggie.

98

Slackbladder:
Ok grandad, I’ve put my longs on, feel free to enlighten me on how , these days a union helps me. Im only interested as membership has been in decline for years, just like membership of the labour party. You know the one st bob took HIS union out of. I wonder how much discussion went on with the members of his union about that decision. Hurry up I’ve got homework to do.

Sorry Sonny I’ve had to have me afternoon nap
Now then can you remember when this country of ours actually made and owned things well this vile evil nasty excuse of a human being came along her name was Thatcher
She sold everything off to mostly foreign countries where they closed our manufacturing factories and moved everything abroad and put over 3 million people on the dole ( job seekers for our younger readers ) she then brought in draconian laws to stop and make industrial disputes nigh on impossible this with mass unemployment caused a drastic decrease in union memberships( are you keeping up or do you want some crayons to use)
So with not many decent paying jobs about her Victorian minded industry
leaders decided it was time to return to the good old days of if you want a job keep ya mouth shut head down and be grateful for anything
This brought another generation of no jobs no prospects and the disgraceful
YTS ( again for Sonny and our younger readers Youth Training Scheme)
This was where Thatcher paid her rich business chums to pay 16 to 18 year old youngsters to work a 40 hr week for the princely sum of £27.50
per week
It was nothing but slave labour
As I’ve told you before Sonny I’ve worked and still work at companies where the bosses and union work together quite well I’ve not been involved in a strike since 79 it’s called talking and working together to sort out problems before they get out of hand
Also with regarding the unions/ Labour relations the Labour Party went down the pan when next EU President Tony Blair took over and now that wet blanket Millibands in charge we’ve got no hope that’s why people look to unions to help protect there rights and be there voices
You should try and join one they send out these things called postal ballot papers where no Union can do anything without the members permission
The last true good Labour MPs are Dennis Skinner John Mann Kate Howey Tony Benn and Frank Fields
I’ve never said all Union leaders are good but with today’s modern MPs not many have done a decent days work at least a majority of unions have started at the bottom and worked there way up
Lastly I know it’s coming to your bed time but as part of your homework I suggest you go back and re read some of the posts on this thread and read what some of us have put on about the pros of being in a union
I take the time to read what people put on here about being anti union as they say we do live in a democracy and freedom of speech so night night Sonny don’t forget to brush your teeth and wash behind your ears

99

^^^^^this^^^^

Bloody well said.

100

Slackbladder:

George@ASDA driver:

Slackbladder:
Fast forward to 2005 & working for ASDA, little money & shiney trucks, not. Less than 25% of the workforce were union members, they managed to get over 200 employees made redundant as they didn’t fancy a new contract that would bring them into line with the other depots in the area. Unions for the workers, don’t make me laugh.

Now let’s fast forward to current day ASDA.

All depot now have Union recognition. We were the last depot to ballot for it.

Currently we have

A good hourly rate.
An insult of £1.80 per hour overtime
An insult of £4.80 per hour for bank holiday*
Overtime is after 45 hours, but if you get overtime at the start of the week, they can send you home early later in the week to claw it back.
No sick pay for 1st 3 days.
13 weeks sick pay per year

Now we have union recognition and will entering the national agreement in May we will get.

A slightly better good hourly rate.
£5.10 per hour overtime
Double time for bank hols plus a day in lieu.*
Guaranteed full days work. Overtime is safe. If you finish early you sit and wait for your 9 hours to finish.
Full Sick pay from day one
26 weeks sick pay per year.

*everyone gets £4.80 per hour. Which means the warehouse staff actually get more % increase!!! Getting double time means everyone gets the same % increase which is fair.

You wanted a good union story. There you have it.

The only drivers who haven’t joined, (but of course will take the extra money the union has worked to get for them) are the same ones who worry about mpg and who have their heads firmly wedged up the managers back side.

So the union have done well to get you up to a standard ASDA were at over 10 years ago. Why do they never try & take ASDA on to get pay parity amongst all workers countrywide?s.

Which is exactly what they have now done. Hence NATIONAL deal. Our depot was renown for having crap Ts&Cs. We are now in line with the rest :slight_smile: without the union, we would never have been.

We never had the benefits listed by the other fella from another depot.