O/T Trade Unions.

Always had mixed feelings about the role and purpose unions had at times throughout the years mainly cos of strikes and work to rule etc, but today my opinion of them went up 10 fold.
The story is my wife is quite badly disabled, this has been the case for nigh on 2 years and will be until she passes on it's only the degree of disablement that will alter..sometimes worse sometimes better, anyway to get to the reason for this post, I am a member of Unite and today had to ask for their assistance as most other avenues were closed to my wife and myself.
She's been in hospital for close on 5 months (3 of those in intensive care) and 2 months completely paralysed, yesterday she came home from Rookwood so to prepare the house for her I turned the heating on something that she needs with her illness....problem NO HEATING, called British Gas as we have a maintenance contract with them..bad news the flue taking the fumes away was damaged beyond repair but this is not covered on our maintenance contract so has to be paid for by ourselves at an estimated cost of £850-£900 a small amount to some on here but an amount we haven't got mainly due to losing my wife's income and her disability payment stopped due to her being in hospital.
Tried loads of organisations that help disabled people in times of great need but banging my head against the wall as I work and hold down a job, turned to my Union as a last possible resort and hey presto.."how much do you need and when do you want it? The Union are GIVING us £900 to get the work done and we don't need to repay it.
I will never say a bad word against unions again.
I know some people will say they can afford it with the amount of money they take from membership fees but that is still some gesture.
Restored my faith in humanity.

May I ask how long you and/or your wife have been members and how much you are getting charged per month

My wife isn't a member and I've been in the Union a little over 4 years at £3 a week.
I think I may have an idea where this question may be leading.

That is great.

I don't think many workers complain about the unions, it is the people that employ those workers that get taken to court over negligible lawsuits that complain. A worker can take a company to court over 'loss of feelings'.

They also completely rig elections by setting members voting preference, when they haven't even been asked who they want to vote for. Over 3 million people are members of Unite and 400,000 of them don't vote Labour, yet those 400,000 members were used to vote for ED Miliband to become the leader.

That being said, that is still great.

That is great.

I don't think many workers complain about the unions, it is the people that employ those workers that get taken to court over negligible lawsuits that complain. A worker can take a company to court over 'loss of feelings'.

They also completely rig elections by setting members voting preference, when they haven't even been asked who they want to vote for. Over 3 million people are members of Unite and 400,000 of them don't vote Labour, yet those 400,000 members were used to vote for ED Miliband to become the leader.

That being said, that is still great.

Quite right in all you say but when your a member and in shit street they help and don't expect you to repay it's a thumbs up from me, can't think of any other organisation that would help so willingly and expect nothing back. All sorted in less than 5 mins.

My wife isn't a member and I've been in the Union a little over 4 years at £3 a week.
I think I may have an idea where this question may be leading.

Firstly this with no disrepect to your situation but would you praise a bank/banker for doing something similar..?

My point is that already for 4 years you have paid £3 per week which means that you have already paid them a total of £624. You then wanted £900 so they only needed to give you the money back which you have already given them plus a further £276.

Soby playing with your feelings they now know that by giving you a lump sum of £276 then they will have many years more of membership payments from you which would probably mean that they will be making more off you then if you went to the bank and asked for a loan!!!

That is great.

I don't think many workers complain about the unions, it is the people that employ those workers that get taken to court over negligible lawsuits that complain. A worker can take a company to court over 'loss of feelings'.

They also completely rig elections by setting members voting preference, when they haven't even been asked who they want to vote for. Over 3 million people are members of Unite and 400,000 of them don't vote Labour, yet those 400,000 members were used to vote for ED Miliband to become the leader.

That being said, that is still great.

Quite right in all you say but when your a member and in shit street they help and don't expect you to repay it's a thumbs up from me, can't think of any other organisation that would help so willingly and expect nothing back. All sorted in less than 5 mins.

Of course they accept something back which is years more of membership fees from you which would total 10+ times more than what they have given you. If I knew that you would be willing to pay me £3 per week for the rest of your life for a one off lump sum of £900 then you should have asked!!!

My wife isn't a member and I've been in the Union a little over 4 years at £3 a week.
I think I may have an idea where this question may be leading.

Firstly this with no disrepect to your situation but would you praise a bank/banker for doing something similar..?

My point is that already for 4 years you have paid £3 per week which means that you have already paid them a total of £624. You then wanted £900 so they only needed to give you the money back which you have already given them plus a further £276.

Soby playing with your feelings they now know that by giving you a lump sum of £276 then they will have many years more of membership payments from you which would probably mean that they will be making more off you then if you went to the bank and asked for a loan!!!

they helped him out....end of

What you should also be aware of is you can't get legal aid for industrial disputes, so if you are wronged then you would either have to fund the lawyer yourself or defend yourself.
A Union provide a lawyer for free. There are lots of other things you can use them for as well. If you are self employed they can help with all sorts of laws and regs etc and things like advice on employing people, tax returns.
Not bad for 3 quid is it.

What you should also be aware of is you can't get legal aid for industrial disputes, so if you are wronged then you would either have to fund the lawyer yourself or defend yourself.
A Union provide a lawyer for free. There are lots of other things you can use them for as well. If you are self employed they can help with all sorts of laws and regs etc and things like advice on employing people, tax returns.
Not bad for 3 quid is it.

Strangely enough we're pursuing a case now against the NHS. My wife fell about 16 months ago when getting ready for her treatment (once a month forever), she broke her foot which led to complications with blood clots x9 which found their way to her lungs. She received no treatment for this even though we pleaded with them that her knee was the size of a football (and that's not exaggerating) and we were worried about blood clots cos of her condition, she ended up in intensive care and with an oxygen mask on as she could barely breathe and ended up with pneumonia (sp) basically because the medical people there didn't understand or know enough about her illness, chronic inflammatory demelyating polyneuropathy.
We are pursuing a claim with the help of the union, so they've been helpful before this but thought this latest gesture merited a mention.

My wife isn't a member and I've been in the Union a little over 4 years at £3 a week.
I think I may have an idea where this question may be leading.

Firstly this with no disrepect to your situation but would you praise a bank/banker for doing something similar..?

My point is that already for 4 years you have paid £3 per week which means that you have already paid them a total of £624. You then wanted £900 so they only needed to give you the money back which you have already given them plus a further £276.

Soby playing with your feelings they now know that by giving you a lump sum of £276 then they will have many years more of membership payments from you which would probably mean that they will be making more off you then if you went to the bank and asked for a loan!!!

I'm pretty sure a banker wouldn't give me a non repayable lump sum of £900 tbh, I mean if all banks did similar then Christ their yearly bonus would take a thrashing.
But I can see where your coming from as my contributions would cover a lot of that £900, but you have to look at the bigger picture there are other benefits from being a union member.

May I ask how long you and/or your wife have been members and how much you are getting charged per month

I expect you'd help your employees out wouldn't you

There must be some wonderful employers out there,your so lucky if your in a job were you don't need a union.

May I ask how long you and/or your wife have been members and how much you are getting charged per month

I expect you'd help your employees out wouldn't you

If someone said give me £900 and I'll pay you £3 per week for the rest of my working life then give me a lift to the cash point!!!

My wife isn't a member and I've been in the Union a little over 4 years at £3 a week.
I think I may have an idea where this question may be leading.

Firstly this with no disrepect to your situation but would you praise a bank/banker for doing something similar..?

My point is that already for 4 years you have paid £3 per week which means that you have already paid them a total of £624. You then wanted £900 so they only needed to give you the money back which you have already given them plus a further £276.

Soby playing with your feelings they now know that by giving you a lump sum of £276 then they will have many years more of membership payments from you which would probably mean that they will be making more off you then if you went to the bank and asked for a loan!!!

I'm pretty sure a banker wouldn't give me a non repayable lump sum of £900 tbh, I mean if all banks did similar then Christ their yearly bonus would take a thrashing.
But I can see where your coming from as my contributions would cover a lot of that £900, but you have to look at the bigger picture there are other benefits from being a union member.

You completely missed me point haven't you. YOU have already paid over 2/3s of the sum they are giving you and they will receive more than the final third from your remaining years of membership!!! Pretty sound investment knowing that by playing with your feelings on this one occasion they would financially benefit many times over!!!!

Unite fund Unite against Fascism who are the biggest pile of twats ever.

Doctors and nurses do their best.

The way people sue them it is as them go to work trying to hurt people.

I wouldn't dream of suing the NHS, they have enough on their plate as it is.

Doctors and nurses do their best.

The way people sue them it is as them go to work trying to hurt people.

I wouldn't dream of suing the NHS, they have enough on their plate as it is.

The only time I would sue the NHS is if their negligence caused a long term major deteriation olin my quality of life or ability to earn a living.

Temporary problems I'd tend to just hope they'd make sure wouldn't happen again.

What you should also be aware of is you can't get legal aid for industrial disputes, so if you are wronged then you would either have to fund the lawyer yourself or defend yourself.
A Union provide a lawyer for free. There are lots of other things you can use them for as well. If you are self employed they can help with all sorts of laws and regs etc and things like advice on employing people, tax returns.
Not bad for 3 quid is it.

How on earth is paying your weekly membership free FFS!!!

Doctors and nurses do their best.

The way people sue them it is as them go to work trying to hurt people.

I wouldn't dream of suing the NHS, they have enough on their plate as it is.

The only time I would sue the NHS is if their negligence caused a long term major deteriation olin my quality of life or ability to earn a living.

Temporary problems I'd tend to just hope they'd make sure wouldn't happen again.

Ye I suppose this situation is fair enough.

What you should also be aware of is you can't get legal aid for industrial disputes, so if you are wronged then you would either have to fund the lawyer yourself or defend yourself.
A Union provide a lawyer for free. There are lots of other things you can use them for as well. If you are self employed they can help with all sorts of laws and regs etc and things like advice on employing people, tax returns.
Not bad for 3 quid is it.

How on earth is paying your weekly membership free FFS!!!

Well I've paid a lot of money to a lot of people over the years. Not one of them have ever given me £900 when they didn't have to. You just cannot knock what unite did for this fella, they didn't have to help him. They could haves fucked him off like British gas did. How much money has he given British gas for heating cover over the years? Sounds like they just wormed their way out.

Tell you what though, why don't you pop along to your beloved bank and ask them for 900 quid that you don't have to pay back. Let us know how that works out for you.

What you should also be aware of is you can't get legal aid for industrial disputes, so if you are wronged then you would either have to fund the lawyer yourself or defend yourself.
A Union provide a lawyer for free. There are lots of other things you can use them for as well. If you are self employed they can help with all sorts of laws and regs etc and things like advice on employing people, tax returns.
Not bad for 3 quid is it.

How on earth is paying your weekly membership free FFS!!!

Well I've paid a lot of money to a lot of people over the years. Not one of them have ever given me £900 when they didn't have to. You just cannot knock what unite did for this fella, they didn't have to help him. They could haves fucked him off like British gas did. How much money has he given British gas for heating cover over the years? Sounds like they just wormed their way out.

Tell you what though, why don't you pop along to your beloved bank and ask them for 900 quid that you don't have to pay back. Let us know how that works out for you.

Surely it all depends on who you have given money too isn't it and to answer your bank question, if that guy opened a bank account 4 years ago and put £3 per in per week and took it out today then he would have have 2/3s of it back excluding interest. However the Union has more or less done something very similar however due to them playing with his situation they have given him a further £200+ knowing that they have won him over and he will continue to pay £3 per week to them throughout the rest of his working life probably without another payout to him. How do you think insurance companies make their money..?

My wife isn't a member and I've been in the Union a little over 4 years at £3 a week.
I think I may have an idea where this question may be leading.

Firstly this with no disrepect to your situation but would you praise a bank/banker for doing something similar..?

My point is that already for 4 years you have paid £3 per week which means that you have already paid them a total of £624. You then wanted £900 so they only needed to give you the money back which you have already given them plus a further £276.

Soby playing with your feelings they now know that by giving you a lump sum of £276 then they will have many years more of membership payments from you which would probably mean that they will be making more off you then if you went to the bank and asked for a loan!!!

I'm pretty sure a banker wouldn't give me a non repayable lump sum of £900 tbh, I mean if all banks did similar then Christ their yearly bonus would take a thrashing.
But I can see where your coming from as my contributions would cover a lot of that £900, but you have to look at the bigger picture there are other benefits from being a union member.

You completely missed me point haven't you. YOU have already paid over 2/3s of the sum they are giving you and they will receive more than the final third from your remaining years of membership!!! Pretty sound investment knowing that by playing with your feelings on this one occasion they would financially benefit many times over!!!!

Adam, I am sorry to say it is YOU that is completely missing the point on this one...

The guy and his wife are going through an extremely tough period in their lives, they needed help and his union (UNITE in this case) were prepared to help out...

How much they have 'paid in' to their union is relatively unimportant, as some will be new and some will have been paying for 30 years plus...

What DOES matter is that the union came to the fore and is there for a LOT of eventualities (legal, pastoral and medical) and NOT just to pick fights with management and organise regular 'strikes' (as more than one or two believe on here)

Frankly, I am dismayed that you would choose such a thread to make such a point when the guy and his wife have just had a little bit of good fortune during what must be a pretty shit period in their lives

To CF64Blue: All I can say is that I am glad your union were able to help and I sincerely hope that your wife's condition is managed as well as can possibly be hope for

May I ask how long you and/or your wife have been members and how much you are getting charged per month

I expect you'd help your employees out wouldn't you

If someone said give me £900 and I'll pay you £3 per week for the rest of my working life then give me a lift to the cash point!!!

But would you help one of your employees if they were in dire straits

That is great.

I don't think many workers complain about the unions, it is the people that employ those workers that get taken to court over negligible lawsuits that complain. A worker can take a company to court over 'loss of feelings'.

They also completely rig elections by setting members voting preference, when they haven't even been asked who they want to vote for. Over 3 million people are members of Unite and 400,000 of them don't vote Labour, yet those 400,000 members were used to vote for ED Miliband to become the leader.

That being said, that is still great.

Quite right in all you say but when your a member and in shit street they help and don't expect you to repay it's a thumbs up from me, can't think of any other organisation that would help so willingly and expect nothing back. All sorted in less than 5 mins.

Of course they accept something back which is years more of membership fees from you which would total 10+ times more than what they have given you. If I knew that you would be willing to pay me £3 per week for the rest of your life for a one off lump sum of £900 then you should have asked!!!

The guy has commentated a feel good story for himself and his wife, and you have to turn it into right wing union bashing what on earth is wrong with you

That is great.

I don't think many workers complain about the unions, it is the people that employ those workers that get taken to court over negligible lawsuits that complain. A worker can take a company to court over 'loss of feelings'.

They also completely rig elections by setting members voting preference, when they haven't even been asked who they want to vote for. Over 3 million people are members of Unite and 400,000 of them don't vote Labour, yet those 400,000 members were used to vote for ED Miliband to become the leader.

That being said, that is still great.

Quite right in all you say but when your a member and in shit street they help and don't expect you to repay it's a thumbs up from me, can't think of any other organisation that would help so willingly and expect nothing back. All sorted in less than 5 mins.

Of course they accept something back which is years more of membership fees from you which would total 10+ times more than what they have given you. If I knew that you would be willing to pay me £3 per week for the rest of your life for a one off lump sum of £900 then you should have asked!!!

The guy has commentated a feel good story for himself and his wife, and you have to turn it into right wing union bashing what on earth is wrong with you

My wife isn't a member and I've been in the Union a little over 4 years at £3 a week.
I think I may have an idea where this question may be leading.

Firstly this with no disrepect to your situation but would you praise a bank/banker for doing something similar..?

My point is that already for 4 years you have paid £3 per week which means that you have already paid them a total of £624. You then wanted £900 so they only needed to give you the money back which you have already given them plus a further £276.

Soby playing with your feelings they now know that by giving you a lump sum of £276 then they will have many years more of membership payments from you which would probably mean that they will be making more off you then if you went to the bank and asked for a loan!!!

I'm pretty sure a banker wouldn't give me a non repayable lump sum of £900 tbh, I mean if all banks did similar then Christ their yearly bonus would take a thrashing.
But I can see where your coming from as my contributions would cover a lot of that £900, but you have to look at the bigger picture there are other benefits from being a union member.

You completely missed me point haven't you. YOU have already paid over 2/3s of the sum they are giving you and they will receive more than the final third from your remaining years of membership!!! Pretty sound investment knowing that by playing with your feelings on this one occasion they would financially benefit many times over!!!!

Adam, I am sorry to say it is YOU that is completely missing the point on this one...

The guy and his wife are going through an extremely tough period in their lives, they needed help and his union (UNITE in this case) were prepared to help out...

How much they have 'paid in' to their union is relatively unimportant, as some will be new and some will have been paying for 30 years plus...

What DOES matter is that the union came to the fore and is there for a LOT of eventualities (legal, pastoral and medical) and NOT just to pick fights with management and organise regular 'strikes' (as more than one or two believe on here)

Frankly, I am dismayed that you would choose such a thread to make such a point when the guy and his wife have just had a little bit of good fortune during what must be a pretty shit period in their lives

To CF64Blue: All I can say is that I am glad your union were able to help and I sincerely hope that your wife's condition is managed as well as can possibly be hope for

I suppose you nicely forgot to read this comment I made before I went on to make my point: Firstly this with no disrepect to your situation

May I ask how long you and/or your wife have been members and how much you are getting charged per month

I expect you'd help your employees out wouldn't you

If someone said give me £900 and I'll pay you £3 per week for the rest of my working life then give me a lift to the cash point!!!

But would you help one of your employees if they were in dire straits

As I said previously but you can't seem to grasp my point that I would help anyone out if the deal was that they give me £900 and I'll pay you £3 per week for the rest of my working life then give me a lift to the cash point!!

That is great.

I don't think many workers complain about the unions, it is the people that employ those workers that get taken to court over negligible lawsuits that complain. A worker can take a company to court over 'loss of feelings'.

They also completely rig elections by setting members voting preference, when they haven't even been asked who they want to vote for. Over 3 million people are members of Unite and 400,000 of them don't vote Labour, yet those 400,000 members were used to vote for ED Miliband to become the leader.

That being said, that is still great.

Quite right in all you say but when your a member and in shit street they help and don't expect you to repay it's a thumbs up from me, can't think of any other organisation that would help so willingly and expect nothing back. All sorted in less than 5 mins.

Of course they accept something back which is years more of membership fees from you which would total 10+ times more than what they have given you. If I knew that you would be willing to pay me £3 per week for the rest of your life for a one off lump sum of £900 then you should have asked!!!

The guy has commentated a feel good story for himself and his wife, and you have to turn it into right wing union bashing what on earth is wrong with you

Another one who forgot to read my comment before I made my point

May I ask how long you and/or your wife have been members and how much you are getting charged per month

I expect you'd help your employees out wouldn't you

If someone said give me £900 and I'll pay you £3 per week for the rest of my working life then give me a lift to the cash point!!!

But would you help one of your employees if they were in dire straits

As I said previously but you can't seem to grasp my point that I would help anyone out if the deal was that they give me £900 and I'll pay you £3 per week for the rest of my working life then give me a lift to the cash point!!