So am pretty new to PAYE and being an employee. Pretty happy with my current lot but you never know what’s going to happen in the future.
Wise to join a union? Get my strike sign/placard at the ready just in case…
Or are they are waste of time?
Any decent ones out there for us truckers?
No.
There is no specific union for drivers but more specifically,if there was,the union and its members would be undermined by mealy mouthed individuals such as many on this forum.
Gidders:
No.
There is no specific union for drivers but more specifically,if there was,the union and its members would be undermined by mealy mouthed individuals such as many on this forum.
Ain’t that the truth!
Personally I’ve joined a union at any workplace where one has been available. Perhaps by sheer ■■■■■■■■■■■ theyve alsobtended to be the jobs with better T&Cs…
I do know of places without union representation who have odd drivers join their a union as an individual but unless the workplace recognise it there’s not much point.
We have a union, I know of one person in it (driver).
Every year the annual wage debate occurs, and it goes like this : company put forward a pay deal, union put it to vote - rejected.
Company put another one forward , largely the same, union vote rejects it.
Company does the 3rd and final offer, it varies by pennies from the first one. Union accepts it.
Some of the pay increments go towards unsociable hours payments and weighting allowance.
Is the union any good ?
Well, in 2014 min wage was £6.50 and our hourly wage wage £11.13 (I think)
Now min wage in £9.50 and our hourly is £12.59 (ish)
Min wage goes up by say 25p -50p per time, so min wage could be only a few years away.
We’re salaried for 10 hours.
Overtime is another story and is averaged over 4 weeks, by which time you’ll have had a short day or two to cancel any overtime out.
I think you’ll find a lot of anti Union feeling on here mate,.although it’s a FACT that firms who have a strong union presence and proper representation, are much better off in terms of T.s & C.s than those who have not, (as well as industries eg the railways) but you can’t educate pork and you can’t get drivers to stick together,.apparentlly it’s a better option to just roll over and take any old crap that is chucked at you. 
As for me I’ve always been pro Union there is only a couple more in my lot that are like minded, but I stayed in the Union as they are supposed to help you with legal matters in the job…in my case wrong.
I was in the URTU which is supposed to be (afaik) solely for drivers,.I had a case come up needing legal help, but they were as much use as ■■■■ on a bull, I e.mailed them my dissatisfaction fully explaining in detail why I was no longer paying monthly subscriptions and the only answer I got back was… ‘‘Why have you stopped paying your subscriptions’’ which kinda says it all.
So my advice is stay clear of them in particular,.waste of money,.and ask others which Union they are in and their opinions and experiences of said Union.
I read the other day some rail union blokes had a 10% pay rise , one was on £130 ,000 , the other £110,000 pa now , says all you need to know about unions & there gravy train
Arthur scargill has recently lost a court case against the miners union as even though he’s years out of it he thinks they should still be paying the rent / mortgage on his place in London
You keep paying your subs , being put to good use by the look of it
I recommend URTU.
The legal protection and employer protection alone are worth the subscription. There may be trouble ahead.
Driving is a fragmented industry, if you are any good a decent employer will want to keep you. I have been disappointed with trade unions in the past.
Back in the day, even owner operators joined the union, Drivers were in the Transports and General Workers Union,
Dues were moderate, and Benefits were questionable.
The number one reason most joined the TGW was you couldn’t get on the Docks (All Docks, Southampton, Tilbury, Avon etc) even the Refineries required union membership !! Quite often they would check your union card, and no card meant you were kicked out and the company was black listed ! They also had for an extra fee a distress fund, so if you had a problem abroad they got you lawyers and paid your fines. Most Employers at the time Recommended / Strongly Suggested and even Mandated everyone joined the union. But then again if you were a card carrying member it also benefitted the employers.
As to pay raises ? There are many companies who will pay as little as possible, and deny union membership, and there are union members receiving a union based wage if not more, while nonunion workers are relegated to what is offered. However, Even none union members get the same raise at a unionized company! And if a strike is called you can’t be fired, but if you’re a none member you can be especially if the strike stops you from doing your job. Also remember if your not a member you get the ■■■■ jobs !!! Without the unions you’d still be working and living in the 17th century. And at the end of the week you would literally take home a crust of bread … I’m not fond of Unions, But I have to admit they have done a lot of good.
If I started all over again, I would join the union, just having the destress fund would pay your dues back many times over if you needed help.
It’s usually worth to join a union even if it’s just for the legal help if something goes wrong, which being a driver unfortunately is a real risk. At least the Union should know the law and make sure the company follows it.
Lots of people think a union is a waste of money but if they manage to get you a decent pay rise every year & help with the above then in my view its worth the cost
From my personal experience of being a union member for over thirty years was that union reps. were only interested in one thing and that was themselves.
They wanted to keep the bosses happy and get what they could out of them, their fellow members had nothing to offer them.
Optimum:
I recommend URTU.
The legal protection and employer protection alone are worth the subscription. There may be trouble ahead.
Given Rob’s experience, is your recommendation based on experience, or what they say they will do for you?
Unions… now there’s a talking point. A lot of drivers nowadays slag Unions off, they’ll tell you they are a waste of money and absolutely useless.
In most cases like this, firstly these drivers will be the ones gobbing off to each other in the yard and not have the balls to say anything to their bosses. What these drivers don’t realise is that “They are the Union”. If they stick together and unite then they have strength but as long as they’ll whine to each other in the yard and not stick together, then they get what they deserve.
I’ve worked in companies like this where drivers will ■■■■■ and moan but never raise their grievances with management. I’ve listened to them and when told them to stick together and take the company on with the support of a union, they’ll bottle it. This is one of the reasons why the industry is like it is today… drivers are their own worst enemies.
I spent most of my driving life working for a global gases company as a senior shop steward on the negotiating committee with senior management. We would discuss everything, T&C’s, pay talks, sick pay, everything. At these meetings we would have a National Officer from the Union with us. However, we did have a couple of occasions where this official decided that as the company appeared to have a harder time than normal that we should have a pay freeze one year. He very quickly got our views rammed down his throat and we stated that if he didn’t want to pursue our claim then he’d best bugger off. We got a decent pay rise in the end. A Union is only as good as you, the members. We had a good bunch of drivers who all stuck together and were prepared to fight, even against the Union officials. Being a Union member for many years paid off for me so to all those who say they are a waste of time, they’re not. The problem is you and the people you’re working with. Get united, stick together and grow a backbone and this industry could improve.
I work for a unionised company,where the annual payrise is a given.
All the other companies I’ve worked for(non unionised)only ever gave out an increase…when they were losing drivers.
This year,the union got us double,what the company first offered.
Having read all the points made, some very good replies there.
So which union is the next question?
mikeshe:
The problem is you and the people you’re working with. Get united, stick together and grow a backbone and this industry could improve.
This 100% ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Gutless and moaning drivers are the bane of my life!
Im a GMB member and they have been really good. Their help and advice have got me out of a stick situation twice with my previous lot. All for just £13 a month.
I’m with the RMT, worth it for the legal cover.
waddy640:
From my personal experience of being a union member for over thirty years was that union reps. were only interested in one thing and that was themselves.They wanted to keep the bosses happy and get what they could out of them, their fellow members had nothing to offer them.
^ That was my experience.
Although my faith in Union solidarity and militancy being the only way was and remains unshaken.I think Scargill was actually on the right side of history in that regard.
While you can add their willingness to chuck Brit workers under the bus in the interests of a supra national collective utopia, as part of that.Again Scargill could never be blamed for that with his justified references to cheap dumped imported coal wrecking the jobs of British miners.
The global race to the bottom was then applied to other sectors of UK industry including road transport for political reasons.
It’s a no from me .
No thanks I will fight my own battle with my company / employer thank you .
Don’t need some cocky gobble de ■■■■ smart ■■■ talking for me thank you .
Muddy K:
Having read all the points made, some very good replies there.So which union is the next question?
You haven’t said if your workplace is unionised?
If it is, then you join whichever one is there.
If it isn’t then you’d be wasting your money imo.
Where I work is unionised. I pay my subs (about £16 a month). Tbf our shop steward is pretty decent at sorting things out or giving advice so I don’t mind. If your workplace doesn’t have a union then you obviously won’t have a shop steward and I can’t honestly see what else I get for my £16 a month tbh!