When I was a teenager back in the 60s my father told me of a time, in the late 1920s or early 1930s when the local quarry sacked all its workers on a Friday afternoon and then set up recruitment the following Monday at a much reduced rate of pay. People had little choice but to sign up again because there was no other work. Unions fought over the years for rights for workers to prevent such exploitation. People who have benefited from those rights now take them for granted but without constant effort they will be lost. P & O anyone?
Alas, when people grow up accustomed to certain rights and freedoms it is easy for them to take them for granted yet be completely unaware of how these rights and freedoms came to be. See also the attacks on human rights and the resurge of authoritarianism.
I often wonder what sort of working class person votes for someone like Boris Johnson who, to me, absolutely and clearly does not have their interests at heart at all. This guy, apparently.
Here in US Reagan's presidency foretold EVERY disaster we now face. First breaking the air traffic controller union then raging like COVID through every safety net, firewall built over 247 years.
I am seriously starting to believe that some people's perception of reality is built upon unicorns and rainbows. To hear working class people argue against their own interests is deeply troublesome. Worse, it's a colossal dis-service to the preceding generations who fought for the rights we enjoy today.
It's a ghastly demonstration of the power of the media, that's been going on most of my life. And the nearest we've got to an alternative is Starmer and his Blairite careerists.
It is fine until you need a knee replacement at a later age and you get sacked for taking time off. Suggesting workers in the same workplace cannot group together and care for themselves and their colleagues.
@@deanrogers6028 If your employer rejects your requests for better pay or conditions, your last resort is to withdraw your labour. This confronts your employer with the reality of what your permanent withdrawal of your labour would mean for their business. If you scab, you may gain short-term relief from unemployment, but you are undermining the position of labour in general. You are accepting conditions of employment that others have found unacceptable in the long term. Are you independently wealthy? If not, consider your position.
Beyond depressing. As an NHS worker myself, the last time staff went on strike I was the only one on my team of 20 that walked out. My team leader asked me the day before if I was going to strike, I explained I would call in the morning to inform them on my decision, the response, "that's inconvenient as were trying to provide a service"!!. And And And............. I am now looking at being medically retired as I have had my health destroyed by covid and by lack off PPE, and terrible safety protocols during the pandemic . At least my UNION is doing everything they can to protect me.
@@jamesbutler1949 James do you know about the Vaccine injuries and have you been injected yourself. I don't wish you no harm but the injection program will be your last decision you make for yourself .
James: "Who is going to make sure you don't get fired for being poorly" Caller: "My employer" Me (after playing it four times): "He said what? Is this guy for real?"
These are the people who take for granted all the benefits and think they just happen naturally. Why would employers abuse their employees just to make a few extra bucks? It's not like that's what they did for YEARS before unions.
@@davidty2006 The "chimney sweeps" in England were children because they could fit up the chimneys. They were basically child slaves, and the practice lasted 200 years, from shortly after the 1666 fire, to the late 1800's. Children as young as 4 were "bought" from poor parents by a "master" sweeper. They received no wages, but often died of cancer or other ailments directly related to their "work".
Honestly, point these people to how Amazon treats its workers in the U.S. because, while there are a lot of union protections afforded to those workers unions are desperately needed to ensure protections are afforded, because I can assure you individual representation means nothing, every Amazon Associate (the entry level position) has complained that they need some kind of break, or exception so they can go to the bathroom without it negatively affecting their rates, here in Southern Arizona where the warehouse would get upwards of 85 degrees away from the machinery (and upwards of 95 while at a work station) people constantly complained about it and were practically begging management all the way up to the guy who managed the whole building to bring the temperature down especially for those working 12 hr shifts in these conditions, or the copious amount of other health and safety issues we face... There is an Amazon Union in the U.S. just one for one location, Arizona you can be fired for attempting to unionize and it's legal for that company to do it so it wont be coming here, but if every state that offers protections for workers who want to unionize does it then the likelihood of it being passed to those in Republican led state legislatures like my state greatly increases.
My grandad always used to say "Empty vessels make the most noise." This caller is the definition of that. It would be funny if it wasn't absolutely soul destroying.
I think it’s about time now that every person who works and pay taxes should join a union to protect ourselves against a greedy employers. Don’t forget the employers have their trad union which is the Conservative party protecting them all the way. Get together and be strong as a team.
These are the types of people who constantly vote against our collective interest not realizing they are voting against their best interest at the same time. Jesus Christ 🤦🏾♂️
I have met people like the caller, They are tough on the left, hard supporters of capitalism while it applies to others. Once the wind turn into their direction they are all for workers rights.
I knew a lady in the states like that. She was especially dead against free healthcare and education, anything ‘socialism’ without understanding the word at all. Then she got cancer. She lost her job as she couldn’t work. Her treatments cost so much her entire life savings (she had been well off enough to have some) were gone including her kids’ college funds and they ended up homeless! What saved her life? Go fund me.
"Do you know where you'd be happy? 1852!" A perfect response and end to this call. It is shocking at how little so many know about the role of unions in securing the rights workers have enjoyed for over one hundred years.
Did he think you negotiate a contract after you’ve got the job? Employer: nope, we don’t agree to those terms, you’re fired. But…, But…, You can’t…, I’ve got a con… what are pleb
Brilliant. Workers many do not get it at all. If have to work to live regardless of status you are a worker. Job today gone tomorrow. Take nothing for granted. Never doff your cap to Tories, big corporates etc do nothing for you. All employment rights you have, everyone of them have and are brought about from and by unions. Thank them. Wannabe Thatcher and wannabe PM Liz Truss will take away what Tories name Red Tape and they mean shred workers rights, working conditions and pay etc. Working rights are part of human rights and the Tories can't wait to tear it up Unions have to win 2022/3 choice off latter or welcome Victorian Times.
Thats why they demonise the unions, and brainwash people into believing that they just want to wreck the country, its all part of their strategy to create a class war, then stand back and blame everyone else. ✌️😎✌️
When companies put you on disciplinary action for having time off for cancer treatment is beyond disgusting - I have seen people affected by this and were lucky to have their unions get involved. Thank goodness they exist!!
@@l_m9494 it was disciplinary action for management of attendance, taking a lot of time off work for sickness. Unfortunately it was due to cancer but that didn’t stop management from not using their discretion and continued along the disciplinary route. The union got involved and saved that person from further aggravation.
@@adee4507 that seems odd. But then you also cant pay somone indefinitely just because they get sick is there not a social welfare where a person can go on sick pay if they are too sick to work?
Excellent! Trade unions came into existence because without them employers walked all over staff. The idea that today, with an even greater drive to make money for shareholders and bosses, things would be any better is delusional. Strikes happen, not because individual workers can negotiate a decent deal, but because they can't.
What really makes me angry is the idea that some people seem to have that the union makes people to go on strike. They lack the understanding that this is a decision from a ballot of the workforce. How can so many be so ignorant of this whole area?
@@warweezil2802 The anti-union propaganda is astonishing. The whole challenge for the Right is to get ordinary people to vote away their police, nurses, doctors, etc and leave themselves worse off. Incredibly, it clearly works!
@@danteshydratshirt2360 quite right, the National Union of Mineworkers were labeled by Thatcher as “the enemy within” this was repeated by her propaganda supporting newspaper rags of the Sun, the Mail and the express. The real enemy of this country is the corrupt Tory criminals led by Johnson. Despicable mobsters, who like to paaar-ty when they tell us we can’t see our dying relatives. Have Sunny garden parties when we couldn’t attend funerals of the people we loved. Only “Enemy within” is the self interest riddled Tory party. They should be in Prison, Not in Power!
Exactly! You can't ask for a decent pay rise because it will push up inflation. So basically your standard of living falls year on year, how is that fair. The rail companies are charging extortionate fairs so they should be able to pay more. And maybe give the greedy bosses less. How someone can be justified to be paid millions or 100,s of 1000,s is beyond me.
It's sad...like a growing percentage of right wingers he has absolutely no idea what he believes...he just knows what groups his tribe doesn't like...the details are trivial.
It was 60 years ago but my father (a joiner / carpenter) used to be laid off by his employer at Christmas to avoid having to pay him holiday pay and in the new year he was reinstated to his old job with no compensation or assistance ! He was paid by the hour and would regularly work an extra 4 hours a day (called a half shift) making 12 hours a day !
How foolish this guy sounded. I’d have loved to see his face as he realised how clever he wasn’t. He totally embarrassed himself with his absolute lack of understanding.
@@andydudley1775 agreed. I get the “sympathy for the conned” thing but it’s about time people have a mirror held up to themselves as coddling stupidity is how we got here in the first place.
@@agt155 So that prevents him from having the right opinion,how many torys went to private schools.Its not a difficult question is it?Are you opposed to workers having the right to a safe workplace?
What did the Romans ever do for us? That was a lesson in why we need collective representation. The employers would roll back on so much if the system wasn't in place to stop them.
It’s amazing when people who are arguing against unions continually bring up rights and employment laws that were fought for and won by workers unions.
@@deanrogers6028 you think things such as maternity leave, health and safety at work act, sick pay, union consultation on redundancy etc all came about because employers wanted to give money away?
@@mcdon2401, I object strongly to union leaders being paid the sums they are paid off the backs of those they claim to represent. Unions are all for one and one for all unless you are high up in said unions where it is just greed on their part.
@@deanrogers6028 never said they were perfect, it's an imperfect world. But given the alternatives, you take part and try to fix the problems within as you go, or you go without and take your chances.
It is unfortunate that unions are seen as the militant arm of the Labour Party when in fact they offer protection for all workers against exploitation by employers. It’s actually reassuring that unions still exist and strikes do happen when the conservatives throw out the old ‘we are cutting jobs to improve efficiency’ line in the NHS/ Teaching/ Police/ Army/ Railways (delete as appropriate)
I despise people opposing unions and workers rights, the mainstream media coverage of the strike is so frustrating saying the strike is "causing misery", the workers drive the economy and the working class are going to need to fight for better conditions going forward
When I first started work in 1962 I had to work on Saturday for half day 07.30 to 12.00.. Regarding pension age, some jobs that don't require much physical effort retiring at over seventy will, for some be okay. For those whose worked all, or most of their working life in industry, heavy lifting...'hard physical graft' in fact your pretty much done by the time your 65, for many before that age..Many didn't reach that pension age, others, like my father received a miserly pension for two years before he died...worn out by overwork..
@@honeybadger3855 if you want to make a point, it's best to actually make it. Standing there being all smug like you've got some sort of super secret you're not telling anyone, and I'm sorry if this comes as a shock so brace yourself for this, is NOT convincing. You've thrown out a random insult and make some sort of vague reference to stuff being different in other countries but you've not actually said anything. The sensible assumption there is: you have nothing. Show us otherwise or don't.
I've been a union rep for 10yrs I've negotiated for better pay and conditions, employees rights and benefits for my members and non members over this period. Unfortunately like this guy who are not a member of the union have gained of unions and the members hard work to stop employers exploitation. Believe me an employer would give you nothing if they legally could. That's why more workers need to become members of there union the bigger the resistance the stronger we are. It's not about power happy it's about looking after those that can't look after themselves. Well said James and thank you for sticking up for the unions.
I've retired last year but I honestly think management have had it easy for years and got rich off our labours. Nobody wants it to be like the 70s , nobody strikes for fun . The Tories will change labour laws from under your feet .
Let’s hope that one thing that comes out of the appalling behaviour of the Tories to trade union officials is that people actually learn something about them.
@David Young very nasty unions trying to keep workforces from loosing jobs, staying safe and getting somewhat pleasant terms and conditions such as sick pay, maternity leave and reasonable pay. Nasty, nasty unions. Maybe the rmt will pave the way for others to stand up to this government and say enough is enough. Maybe you’ll benefit from it.
The trouble is that there are millions of deluded individuals like this one who think that somehow they have personally and individually achieved a great deal for themselves.
@@michaelgoode9555 "I'll negotiate". Yeah because they would happily negotiate with him annual leave when they can hire anyone else with no annual leave 😂 These guys need to do some research on what employment used to be like before we had these rights. They taught it in my school in Humanitarian class didn't they do that with everyone?
Everything worth having in this country is the result of agitation by the Unions. No Tory governments have introduced major social legislation. It has been Labour governments who are responsible for that. Businesses can function without a CEO . The workforce will keep it running. No workforce - no business. In the 3 decades after WW2 ordinary folk saw their living standards rise as never before. Since 1979 wages have stagnated. The 6th richest country in the world enjoys living standards that are 22nd in the world. Reason? The hobbling of organised labour. Our competitors welcome the Unions. The Germans work with organised labour. That's why they are much more successful than us and they always will be. Rugged individualism is hopeless. Collective action is the way forward.
It is sad that there are so many people, me included until I was about 25, that believe unions and union action is a bad thing. I am not saying that unions are perfect but nothing gets done without disrupting a few people (workers rights, women's suffrage, civil rights movement - aka heroes)and these days I am very very happy to disrupt the super rich.
It took me a while to see the benefits of a strong Union against an employer who would happily sabotage any workers rights given the chance. I used to see the Unions as more of a trouble maker than worker protection. How wrong I was!
I find it hard to understand how collective workers rights could ever be seen as a bad thing, no matter what age you are or were. Please educate me on why you thought unions were bad before you were 25, what reasoning were you coming to? I'm genuinely flummoxed, I thought everybody understood the importance of worker representation.
Same here although more like in my 50s, up to that ponit I was too busy earning money and ignored politics, then began to realise how much ALL governments take away our rights, I now support unions & striking, and only wish non union company employees would stick together and make their employers take notice.
I remember when we worked on saturdays and when it was abolished what a row came from the employers how are we going to manage and it was a nine hour day except saturdays which was six hours. For holiday pay we paid for stamps. If off work for any reason to get a stamp you had to complete a full week. This was the 1950's. The factory owner when he built his factory built the houses close to the works. Rent was part of your wages if you fell out with your boss you not only lost your job but you lost your. home as well. Some of the wool barons also owned the shops and would only accept the coinage minted at the mill or foundary. This started the Co-operative movement owned by the working classes who obtained a co-op number and dividends were paid from profits each quarter on presenting that number. Very little is taught on this history in schools and what is is glossed over or sanitised. But if the laws were changed today the employers would be quick to take advantage. Just take the recent action by a ferry company at Dover. Viewers have been enjoying Gentleman Jack on the TV a real person based on her diarys filmed at the original home. In the yard is a coal truck pushed by children underground in one of her mines. We saw in the last episode her politcs about supporting the Blue.
It is a common fallacy to believe the left gave us the NHS. Churchill's war time government created the NHS after promising everyone who served free healthcare for life.
it wasn't until I read EP Thompson, the Making of the English Working Class, that I realised how hard our ancestors fought for the right to form a union, and I was never taught anything about the working class struggle while at school (50s & 60s),I oft wonder why?
Ditto. Many employers are more than happy to bully and harass their staff, knowing that if there's no/weak union representation, they're almost untouchable, and if you don't like it, tough. My stepdaughter put up with horrendous amounts of abuse because she didn't know her rights, and her rep was ineffective. She had to fight tooth and nail to get what was owed to her, but because I helped her with it, she was successful.
Did being a union rep ever affect your chances of career progression? I once worked with a man who was told to stop being a union rep in order to get a promotion.
@@skylarius3757 guess it depends what you want. I get far more satisfaction being a thorn in the side of management (even though I'm no longer a rep), and I haven't the slightest interest in joining a group who would gleefully stab you in the front, never mind the back 🤣
How have we come to a situation , where working people are very happy to shoot themselves in the foot by denigrating the unions, and asking themselves what have they ever done for me? Let me tell you, minimum holiday and sickness entitlement, abolition of child labour, improved worker safety, improved parental leave among other things.
"Why are you arguing for making things worse not just for yourself but for the majority of your fellow citizens?" "Because the PM who is a proven liar told me who was to blame for literally everything and I passionately believe that without even entertaining the idea that there might be another side to the story or what the potential consequences could be!"
This caller needs an education, badly. 'How would you do that?' - 'negotiate with the employer and you have an employment contract'..... I don't even know what to say, pure idiocy.
I can't understand why Britain can't see what this Gov't is doing to the working mans rights. And now there is no EU laws to protect workers rights yes we are back in the 1800s. The lack of comprehension of the dire straights workers rights are in in the UK is flabbergasting. When will they wake up?
As mildly amusing as this is, as witnessed by many spot on comments, it really is profoundly depressing that there is this scale of ignorance out there and that these dangerous knuckle draggers can vote.
This type probably still wears a face mask and swallowed the covid scam hook ,line and sinker . The Goverment love people like this that believe this anti union propaganda and Goverment speak false stop .
i agree its quite upsetting to see idiots have such nonchalant opinions about things that will ultimately effect them and their children. absolute stupidity at it finest, its no wonder the government keep taking us for fools.
I don’t think it is ignorance. It’s more that there is a certain number of people (typically boomers) who don’t need union representation because “I’m alright Jack” and they despise the fact that others (who aren’t as valuable to their employer or who are poor and have little agency) have access to representation that can give them more power than the boomers feel they deserve.
Painful listening, the ignorance of the caller was disturbing, but fortunately James was able to put across a well balanced counter argument where reasonable people could follow and come to a fair and balanced judgement.
You can almost hear the gears in the guy's head as James feeds him notions that he's never even contemplated before. He thinks everything is there by some kind of divine right.
"my contact will protect me" that contract being written to contain standards won by unions. this dude is desperate to go back to a time when kids died inside factories and chimneys and labourers suffered from rickets because they never got to spend time outside.
These people are the new middle class. Ignore how much the mega rich take out, focus on getting a better deal than the majority for your self. The Unions where created to fight the middle class for a fair share.
ive forwarded this on to my 20yr old son who thinks unions are redundant and workers who strike are the problem! I genuinely despair at his understanding of the fundamental right to strike. I blame the parents😳🔫
when he asked the guy 'do you know where you'd be happy?', I thought the answer was the United States. Turns out, it was 1852. Says a lot about the United States.
"At the end of the day, everything I get, I negotiate myself". Does this guy understand what a union is and what it does? Does he not understand that he has the negotiating power of one person and companies tend to not fear one person because one person is easily replaceable. Now you coordinate a work force's power into one entity. What is the company going to do? Replace everybody? I have two letters for you: P & O. That went well for them didn't it? The public backlash, the political backlash that then followed the public one. Companies pay alot more attention to a union than they would you. You could be their star workerYou'd still be easily replaceable.
It's more likely they conveniently choose not to research what life was like for the average worker 200 years ago. It would totally destroy their arguments.
The greatest trick the Tories ever pulled was to get the workers to empathise with _employers'_ wants and needs more than they do with the wants and needs of workers like themselves.
With zero hour contracts, one employee benefits at the expense of another so that none of them can get enough hours, earn enough money or break free from the control of the Universal Credit vampire.
i used to work in Waitrose and one of the younger women that worked with me in a group threw a complete tantrum one day over the bs they were putting our groups through... she threatened to just leave. Oh it got our immediate team leader and lower level managers attention and the young woman was told things would change. The next 2 or 3 days for her were better but then they slid back again. they just make token efforts to appease you without any proper representation. IIRC the young woman quit a month later. IMHO you should just quit as the blackmail of quitting doesnt work
Years ago I worked for a start up company in London, where no one was in any type of union. I was unwell for a while, and was made to feel as though I had to pack in the job, so I did and left London, and ended that career and ended up doing other things. However, if I had of been in a union, I'm sure it would have helped and I could of just been off work for a month or two, then returned to my job, and continued in that career. The owner has since been given a life peerage and is sitting in the House of Lords, with a job for life that pays £300 daily expenses.
When I was working in a garage and was being genuinely discriminated against and bullied, my trade union rep sorted it out and did a bostin job, making sure people were punished for their actions, and when my leg muscle torn on the way to work and it took 6 months to recover, the trade union jumped in on my behalf to stop the company firing me for something that wasn't my fault, second I leave that job and go for a semi-self employed contactor job, the company could and did get shot of me after 3 years because they felt like it and I didn't have a leg to stand on, I was begging for union representation then, this bloke don't know what he has in terms of employment privileges and what the great unions have done for us.
@@agt155 if he was self employed then no...but as a self employed person he should have insurance to cover that. I honestly think you are clueless about working practices and you may be better off not posting
@@agt155 Patently not, but in his costings your builder would have included insurance against such an occurrence, so you would still be making a contribution towards covering the cost of his accident.
@@agt155 That being the case, you should keep clear of such a cheapskate as he won't stay in business long, what you describe is a self employed bricky with little business acumen, who would likely walk out on the job when things went pear shaped. The insurance would not only protect the builder's interest, it would also protect yours.
The whole idea revolves around "That could never happen to me, I am too important to my employer and so smart, that I can negotiate my own contract and be better off with it." But the truth is, without unions and workers rights you either take the conditions you are offered or you can sleep under a bridge. And better start looking for a second or third job, too. Look at the US, do you really want to end up like them? If you go after workers rights there is only one kind of person benefiting, and it's not the worker.
My word the absolute ignorance of the caller, he thinks having a contract in place stops employers dismissing their staff. Hes just been lucky enough to never have been unfairly fired, and has no what his rights are.
James O'Brien is beginning to grow on me.....Employers will always find a way of getting rid of a person they don't want,wether a contract is in place or not unfortunately 🇬🇧
@@johnmccann5104 What does he think happens if an employer breaches a contract anyway? The only enforcement is the Courts, which is inaccessible for many employees.
@@laurenhyatt9006Hi Lauren......Things are certainly changing in 2022. ....Employers in the current market can easily get rid of an employee by claiming the needs of their business has changed. Every business I know (I work in hospitality) is basically quieter now than it was pre covid. Lots of pubs have closed their doors and won't be reopening along with restaurants and night clubs. Most are operating on 30% less staff but Boris still claims more people are working ....Its really not looking very prosperous for the coming months unfortunately
Absolute truth James, every benefit that working people have,( weekends off,holidays with pay,sick pay, tea break,safety in the work place, protective equipment,) none of this was given through the the kindness of employers,it was achieved by the unions, and sadly people have forgotten that and need to be reminded every day,
The caller and the many people like him are all of the idea that "it won't happen to me because ...... blah blah blah" This is Privilege, just like the man squatting in No.10.
Remember having a civil service interview in 1978 when I was asked as a mum was I hoping to have more pregnancies???...in 1978. I have been a proud union member ever since
@@agt155 Whose side are you on - the corporations? No parental leave, 14 days holiday after many years of employment, ability to sack without cause, terrible terms and conditions unless you are in the top 10%
@@natashawatson385 They do it to impress people with a higher status in life because their ego cons them into thinking it will improve their status too if they be more like them. I bet this guy is the first one to roll over and show his belly when the board turns up to the office for a meeting.
The caller probably doesn't regard himself as privileged, yet he enjoys a huge amount of benefits that other people had to fight so hard to get for him (i.e. paid leave, sick pay, weekends, maximum hours per week, etc). He doesn't recognise his privileges therefore he doesn't recognise the past achievements of the unions, therefore he doesn't understand what unions can do for him now
I have heard enough. Our children are uneducated until they are taught,in detail, how trade unions work, how they started and which country invented them and why ordinary working people are lacking if they are not a member of a trade union.
Oh no, we can’t have that - how would Tory governments and huge corporations turn the public at large against unionisation if people knew that trade unions represent their interests?
Trade unions started in middle ages, they are direct continuations of medieval trade guilds! Trade unions are archaic organizations that should be abolished!
Not got a clue , has he ever worked for companies like Sports Direct. Where a woman had a child in a cloakroom or you turn up for your 12 hour shift and sent home without pay. Holiday pay now calculated on an average of your wage over so many weeks was once you got paid the bare minimum of hours. That's what leaving the EU was all about becoming a deregulated sweatshop , Singapore without the sunlit uplands.
Caller, there are employment contracts for some called 'zero hours contract' (curtsey of the 'Gig economy')- you trot into work each day and if they have work, you work that day for as many or few hours as they decide. And if they don't want you, you go home, bus fare wasted. You work weekends and whatever shifts they want to offer. You get unpaid holiday, but if you take it, they will most likely not have you back. This is real, we have it NOW, I had family working it. They want this for everyone. How can you plan your life never knowing if you are going to earn a crust for each and every single day.
I think zero hour contracts are ok for under 18s because they don’t usually have to worry much about paying bills because they mostly still live with parents and some may contribute a bit towards bills, but not loads. Over 18 zero hour contracts shouldn’t be allowed because when ur an adult ur going to want to think about moving out of ur parents house at some point so ur going to want a job with a guaranteed salary so u can rely on ur salary to pay rent or mortgage, buy food and pay the bills. On a zero hour contract u don’t have that reliability because if they don’t need u, u go home and don’t get paid or if ur sick no sick pay
@@Tom-ci4wn No - if the under 18 yo CAN make the company a profit then they need to be paid accordingly and need to have the same protection as other workers. Zero hour contracts also mean no paid holidays and no planable schedule. Why is the time of a young person (their free time) less valuable than the life time of a person over 20 or over 40 ?? It also is an incentive to skip the planning and let the workers (young or not) compensate for that with THEIR LOST TIME.
@@Tom-ci4wn If they cannot make the company a profit they WILL NOT BE HIRED - never mind the age so why discriminate based on age (or supposed need for money). Having to treat them like other staff is also a strong incentive to train new / young team members well and to make sure the more experienced team members integrate them well and mentor them. In Germany or Austria is is not allowed to have zero hour contracts for anyone, schedules must be announced in advance so that the employee can plan (their free time and private life). There are also limits what kind of breaks can be imposed on a person. The rules are more employeer friendly in the hospitality industry, where the employees often have board and have a longer break on the afternoon. But else there must be a reasonable balance between work time and the duration of breaks. Minors must be paid full wages (I think they must be at least 14 or 15 to be employable). - Usually they get minimum wage or the minimum of the bargaining contract for their industry. But they cannot be paid less than that for being a minor, nor do they have to show more flexibility than other staff or have to put up with other discrimination. When they work summer jobs they get paid their share of holidays, they normally cannot take them. And they must get the extra wages (in Austria almost all industries have 14 wages, the 2 bonus payments are commonly called the Holiday and Christmas money, and that kind of extra payment is also very common in Germany). So if a 16 yo works for 1 month they get a little more than 2 paid holidays and one twelth part of 2 full monthly salaries. The number of hours a young person can work is up for negotiation can be up to 40 hours, but they are not allowed to make overtime (or it is restricted - the company is very restricted in asking for that. And they cannot work night shifts - 10 pm to 5 am). Of course a minor that still goes to school will not hold a full time job. Or any job, usually the parents and kids are eager to get a job for the summer holidays. If a minor has completed the mandatory 9 or 10 years of basic education they can start to work (40 hours) and will have to be paid like a legal adult. Either the legal minimum, what the collective bargaining mandates or the company additionally does have an agreement about wages (usually with the board of labour). And then there are apprenticeships. Those put a lot of burdens on the employers (after a trial period they must keep the apprentice for full 3 years. Those contracts are for 40 hours per week (or 38 or whatever is the standard time in the industry) they get paid much less than a simple unskilled worker BUT they must be trained, cannot be used for repetitive simple work only, their employer must present a plan to the Chamber of Commerce of how they plan to train them *, they got to school (1 day per week for approx. 40 weeks - or they are away for a time in a boarding school for their industry). * that plan is not a big deal, large companies or ones that always have apprentices will not have to prove they have a plan - but a new, small company or one with only one or few staff members may be asked how the apprentice is going to be mentored. And there needs to be a certain ratio between staff and apprentices. A one person company might get away with having one apprentice, but they better make sure to explain how a wide range of tasks are going to be covered and what the apprentice is going to do when the mentor or biz owners is absent. But a larger outfit (let's say 5 hair stylists will not be paired with 5 apprentices, 2 will be O.K. and their will be sufficient capacities to instruct and supervise them and to use them in a productive manner. Likewise one maintainance team in an industrial plant with maybe 10 trained workers will have 1 - 2 apprentices at all times. Maybe one trained as electrician and 1 trained as mechanic or tool maker.
I vividly recall a Thatcher led Tory government being very keen on people having proper trade union rights, representation and recognition. Unfortunately that was only for the people of Poland!
If the caller detests trade unions so much, why won't he give up all the benefits he enjoys, hard fought for and won by trade unionism. Until he does that, he will always be just another hypocrite not worth entering into dialogue with.
Its really made me focus on what the trade unions have done in past and how we (as a general) now treat them as a nuisance and are blaming them for the railway strikes as opposed to the government or the employers. Its been misrepresented in the news as well I think as its in protest to the mass redundancies and technology changes making jobs obsolete.
Its odd that he thinks he can negotiate for himself with his employer when he can't even negotiate this conversation to making a single salient point.
When he has never actually negotiated anything , even if he would be self employed , hes just been negotiating what he gets paid , nothing else .
Most salient comment here - and that's saying something.
Spot on! Haha
Indeed.... his naivety is hilarious.
Perfectly put👌🏻
When I was a teenager back in the 60s my father told me of a time, in the late 1920s or early 1930s when the local quarry sacked all its workers on a Friday afternoon and then set up recruitment the following Monday at a much reduced rate of pay. People had little choice but to sign up again because there was no other work. Unions fought over the years for rights for workers to prevent such exploitation. People who have benefited from those rights now take them for granted but without constant effort they will be lost. P & O anyone?
Alas, when people grow up accustomed to certain rights and freedoms it is easy for them to take them for granted yet be completely unaware of how these rights and freedoms came to be. See also the attacks on human rights and the resurge of authoritarianism.
And yet so many are against unions.
If I were a boxing referee I would have had to stop the fight.
He knocked him straight back into 1852
🤣
He was knocked back into the last millennium.
@@charleswalls8115 Where a Victorian factory manager immediately put him on a 16 hour shift
This isn't a fight, It's an execution
This is the sort of person that will not acknowledge anything wrong or standup for anyone else. This is how a race for the bottom starts.
I often wonder what sort of working class person votes for someone like Boris Johnson who, to me, absolutely and clearly does not have their interests at heart at all.
This guy, apparently.
@@jmckendry84 I can never understand how a Tory government can ever get elected. Makes zero sense to me.
The amount who dont realise what a union does, and what they have done for the workers is really high.
the amount of effort put into basic education in this country is laughable
if it wasn't for the Unions thatcher would destroyed this country even more, of which we have never recovered from
Here in US Reagan's presidency foretold EVERY disaster we now face. First breaking the air traffic controller union then raging like COVID through every safety net, firewall built over 247 years.
@@BobQuigley the guy didn't know what day it was and after his presidency more of the cabinet ended up in jail, republicans = crooks
@@BobQuigley they foretold the facist, white supremicts would destroy america
"Changes and progress very rarely are gifts from above. They come out of struggles from below." - Noam Chomsky.
I am seriously starting to believe that some people's perception of reality is built upon unicorns and rainbows. To hear working class people argue against their own interests is deeply troublesome. Worse, it's a colossal dis-service to the preceding generations who fought for the rights we enjoy today.
It's a ghastly demonstration of the power of the media, that's been going on most of my life. And the nearest we've got to an alternative is Starmer and his Blairite careerists.
It is fine until you need a knee replacement at a later age and you get sacked for taking time off. Suggesting workers in the same workplace cannot group together and care for themselves and their colleagues.
This
How would striking without pay or being called a scab if I didn't strike be in 'my best interests' exactly ?
@@deanrogers6028 If your employer rejects your requests for better pay or conditions, your last resort is to withdraw your labour. This confronts your employer with the reality of what your permanent withdrawal of your labour would mean for their business.
If you scab, you may gain short-term relief from unemployment, but you are undermining the position of labour in general. You are accepting conditions of employment that others have found unacceptable in the long term.
Are you independently wealthy? If not, consider your position.
Beyond depressing. As an NHS worker myself, the last time staff went on strike I was the only one on my team of 20 that walked out. My team leader asked me the day before if I was going to strike, I explained I would call in the morning to inform them on my decision, the response, "that's inconvenient as were trying to provide a service"!!. And And And............. I am now looking at being medically retired as I have had my health destroyed by covid and by lack off PPE, and terrible safety protocols during the pandemic . At least my UNION is doing everything they can to protect me.
What is the Update on Vaccine Injuries or are GB News Lying 🤥
@@natashawatson385 ?
Wishing you the best possible, James.
@@jamesbutler1949 James do you know about the Vaccine injuries and have you been injected yourself. I don't wish you no harm but the injection program will be your last decision you make for yourself .
@@natashawatson385 I’ve had 3. Still functioning perfectly fine. So, grow up.
Sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut and let people think your a fool, than open it and remove all doubt…..
Mark Twain
100%
Proverbs 17:28
“Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.”.
Love that quote!
Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut and let people think *you're* a fool, than to type it and remove all doubt.....
I thought Abraham Lincoln said that ?
James: "Who is going to make sure you don't get fired for being poorly"
Caller: "My employer"
Me (after playing it four times): "He said what? Is this guy for real?"
I had to wheel it up a couple of times too. One of the thickest blokes I've ever heard on this phone in
These are the people who take for granted all the benefits and think they just happen naturally. Why would employers abuse their employees just to make a few extra bucks? It's not like that's what they did for YEARS before unions.
They used to use child labour in the coal mines and factories because it was cheap.
@@davidty2006 The "chimney sweeps" in England were children because they could fit up the chimneys. They were basically child slaves, and the practice lasted 200 years, from shortly after the 1666 fire, to the late 1800's. Children as young as 4 were "bought" from poor parents by a "master" sweeper. They received no wages, but often died of cancer or other ailments directly related to their "work".
Honestly, point these people to how Amazon treats its workers in the U.S. because, while there are a lot of union protections afforded to those workers unions are desperately needed to ensure protections are afforded, because I can assure you individual representation means nothing, every Amazon Associate (the entry level position) has complained that they need some kind of break, or exception so they can go to the bathroom without it negatively affecting their rates, here in Southern Arizona where the warehouse would get upwards of 85 degrees away from the machinery (and upwards of 95 while at a work station) people constantly complained about it and were practically begging management all the way up to the guy who managed the whole building to bring the temperature down especially for those working 12 hr shifts in these conditions, or the copious amount of other health and safety issues we face... There is an Amazon Union in the U.S. just one for one location, Arizona you can be fired for attempting to unionize and it's legal for that company to do it so it wont be coming here, but if every state that offers protections for workers who want to unionize does it then the likelihood of it being passed to those in Republican led state legislatures like my state greatly increases.
@Hithere hwsitgoing Yes poor people being treated like slaves, not wealthy train drivers on £70k per year.
@@agt155 you do realise, it isn't just train drivers, yes? This strike action is for many other employees of the railway companies.
My grandad always used to say "Empty vessels make the most noise."
This caller is the definition of that. It would be funny if it wasn't absolutely soul destroying.
Someone has come onto the radio to argue he should have less employment rights. And you wonder how we end up with antivaxers and brexit?
Well said.
Ditto
More brains in a pork pie.
The fuvk has brexit and not wanting to take a poison got to do with employment rights you melon? Stay on course w⚓️
He isn't. He's arguing the everybody else should have less rights.
I think it’s about time now that every person who works and pay taxes should join
a union to protect ourselves against a greedy employers. Don’t forget the employers
have their trad union which is the Conservative party protecting them all the way.
Get together and be strong as a team.
100%
These are the types of people who constantly vote against our collective interest not realizing they are voting against their best interest at the same time. Jesus Christ 🤦🏾♂️
This is nation is seek
Like the 'Turkeys voting for Christmas' Brexit voters.... they knew what they had voted for... farage and the daily Mail told them so ...
Isn't it just infuriating how dumb it is ffs. We're really just out of the dark ages in the grand scheme of things.
This industrial level of ignorance is how we have a Tory government and Brexit.
Please your point is well made but don't take Jesus's name in vain please my friend.Thank you.Lawerence
I have met people like the caller, They are tough on the left, hard supporters of capitalism while it applies to others. Once the wind turn into their direction they are all for workers rights.
A kick in the Nuts normally solves it .
I knew a lady in the states like that. She was especially dead against free healthcare and education, anything ‘socialism’ without understanding the word at all. Then she got cancer. She lost her job as she couldn’t work. Her treatments cost so much her entire life savings (she had been well off enough to have some) were gone including her kids’ college funds and they ended up homeless! What saved her life? Go fund me.
"Do you know where you'd be happy? 1852!" A perfect response and end to this call. It is shocking at how little so many know about the role of unions in securing the rights workers have enjoyed for over one hundred years.
Did he think you negotiate a contract after you’ve got the job? Employer: nope, we don’t agree to those terms, you’re fired. But…, But…, You can’t…, I’ve got a con… what are pleb
The right always say we don't want to go back to the 1970s but happy to go back to 1852
Brilliant. Workers many do not get it at all. If have to work to live regardless of status you are a worker. Job today gone tomorrow. Take nothing for granted. Never doff your cap to Tories, big corporates etc do nothing for you.
All employment rights you have, everyone of them have and are brought about from and by unions. Thank them.
Wannabe Thatcher and wannabe PM Liz Truss will take away what Tories name Red Tape and they mean shred workers rights, working conditions and pay etc. Working rights are part of human rights and the Tories can't wait to tear it up
Unions have to win 2022/3 choice off latter or welcome Victorian Times.
in a pure capitalist market without checks and balances, employers will only think of one thing: profit.
so your rights don't mean squat, said caller.
Thats why they demonise the unions, and brainwash people into believing that they just want to wreck the country, its all part of their strategy to create a class war, then stand back and blame everyone else.
✌️😎✌️
When companies put you on disciplinary action for having time off for cancer treatment is beyond disgusting - I have seen people affected by this and were lucky to have their unions get involved. Thank goodness they exist!!
You've seen company's discipline people for having cancer ? What company was that?
@@l_m9494 it was disciplinary action for management of attendance, taking a lot of time off work for sickness. Unfortunately it was due to cancer but that didn’t stop management from not using their discretion and continued along the disciplinary route. The union got involved and saved that person from further aggravation.
@@adee4507 that seems odd. But then you also cant pay somone indefinitely just because they get sick is there not a social welfare where a person can go on sick pay if they are too sick to work?
Excellent!
Trade unions came into existence because without them employers walked all over staff. The idea that today, with an even greater drive to make money for shareholders and bosses, things would be any better is delusional.
Strikes happen, not because individual workers can negotiate a decent deal, but because they can't.
What really makes me angry is the idea that some people seem to have that the union makes people to go on strike. They lack the understanding that this is a decision from a ballot of the workforce. How can so many be so ignorant of this whole area?
@@warweezil2802 a hangover from Thatcher era when unions were demonised
@@warweezil2802 The anti-union propaganda is astonishing.
The whole challenge for the Right is to get ordinary people to vote away their police, nurses, doctors, etc and leave themselves worse off. Incredibly, it clearly works!
@@danteshydratshirt2360 quite right, the National Union of Mineworkers were labeled by Thatcher as “the enemy within” this was repeated by her propaganda supporting newspaper rags of the Sun, the Mail and the express.
The real enemy of this country is the corrupt Tory criminals led by Johnson.
Despicable mobsters, who like to paaar-ty when they tell us we can’t see our dying relatives. Have Sunny garden parties when we couldn’t attend funerals of the people we loved.
Only “Enemy within” is the self interest riddled Tory party.
They should be in Prison, Not in Power!
Exactly! You can't ask for a decent pay rise because it will push up inflation. So basically your standard of living falls year on year, how is that fair. The rail companies are charging extortionate fairs so they should be able to pay more. And maybe give the greedy bosses less. How someone can be justified to be paid millions or 100,s of 1000,s is beyond me.
The caller thinks that he's so brilliant that he could individually negotiate whatever he wanted.
It's sad...like a growing percentage of right wingers he has absolutely no idea what he believes...he just knows what groups his tribe doesn't like...the details are trivial.
You may mean he doesn't know the values his beliefs are based on or wouldn't want to admit them. I'd say they are mean-spiritedness and spite.
He just supports the side that doesn't want radical change because change scares him
Years of reading the Daily Mail
@@brianperry Or, more likely, just looking at the pictures!
Probably someone who has adopted and used the word ‘woke’ to describe people who care about others
It was 60 years ago but my father (a joiner / carpenter) used to be laid off by his employer at Christmas to avoid having to pay him holiday pay and in the new year he was reinstated to his old job with no compensation or assistance ! He was paid by the hour and would regularly work an extra 4 hours a day (called a half shift) making 12 hours a day !
It won't get better if you scratch it, Cratchet
How foolish this guy sounded. I’d have loved to see his face as he realised how clever he wasn’t. He totally embarrassed himself with his absolute lack of understanding.
i think james was kind on his kind of voting tory .should of hammered him more let him know what he is.
"In a political struggle of class against class, organization of trade unions is the most important weapon."( Friedrich Engels)
@@andydudley1775 agreed. I get the “sympathy for the conned” thing but it’s about time people have a mirror held up to themselves as coddling stupidity is how we got here in the first place.
This was the one bold enough to show off his ignorance in public.
Trouble is there are a lot of people like it. It is really worrying.
James "You know where you'd be happy? Caller (anticipating excitedly)
"Yeah go on.
James: 1852!
Brilliant 😂
How many 80 year old bricklayers have you seen. Well done James.
some of these anti union twonks need to go live in CHINA.. and see how workers are TRULY ABUSED!!!
the brick layers I know are all self employed and vote conservative.
How many bricklayers has Obrien seen in his life. I doubt many went to his £40k private school.
@@agt155Tory BOT, begone you W⚓
@@agt155 So that prevents him from having the right opinion,how many torys went to private schools.Its not a difficult question is it?Are you opposed to workers having the right to a safe workplace?
What did the Romans ever do for us? That was a lesson in why we need collective representation. The employers would roll back on so much if the system wasn't in place to stop them.
I suspect he is a Sun/Daily Fail reader. He probably thinks the Tories genuinely intend on "levelling up"! 😂🤣
lol
Nah he knows it's nonsense but he likes it
some of these anti union twonks need to go live in CHINA.. and see how workers are TRULY ABUSED!!!
Don’t think this guy can read to be honest 🤔
You vote Labour don't you? Another working class peasant
Trade unions are absolutely needed to protect employees rights. People are so blinded by the Media it's sad.
It’s amazing when people who are arguing against unions continually bring up rights and employment laws that were fought for and won by workers unions.
Such as?
@@deanrogers6028 you think things such as maternity leave, health and safety at work act, sick pay, union consultation on redundancy etc all came about because employers wanted to give money away?
@@mcdon2401, I object strongly to union leaders being paid the sums they are paid off the backs of those they claim to represent.
Unions are all for one and one for all unless you are high up in said unions where it is just greed on their part.
@@deanrogers6028 never said they were perfect, it's an imperfect world. But given the alternatives, you take part and try to fix the problems within as you go, or you go without and take your chances.
@@deanrogers6028 Then you should feel the same way about the politicians you vote for. Is Johnson worth what he's paid?
It is unfortunate that unions are seen as the militant arm of the Labour Party when in fact they offer protection for all workers against exploitation by employers. It’s actually reassuring that unions still exist and strikes do happen when the conservatives throw out the old ‘we are cutting jobs to improve efficiency’ line in the NHS/ Teaching/ Police/ Army/ Railways (delete as appropriate)
I despise people opposing unions and workers rights, the mainstream media coverage of the strike is so frustrating saying the strike is "causing misery", the workers drive the economy and the working class are going to need to fight for better conditions going forward
When I first started work in 1962 I had to work on Saturday for half day 07.30 to 12.00.. Regarding pension age, some jobs that don't require much physical effort retiring at over seventy will, for some be okay. For those whose worked all, or most of their working life in industry, heavy lifting...'hard physical graft' in fact your pretty much done by the time your 65, for many before that age..Many didn't reach that pension age, others, like my father received a miserly pension for two years before he died...worn out by overwork..
Brilliant again James.
Every worker needs union support.
Zero hours contracts and Exploitation are rife in this country.
so - you are saying that the unions have failed.
Someone clearly hasn’t been outside of the UK. What a sheltered life you have lead, Susan.
@@honeybadger3855 if you want to make a point, it's best to actually make it. Standing there being all smug like you've got some sort of super secret you're not telling anyone, and I'm sorry if this comes as a shock so brace yourself for this, is NOT convincing. You've thrown out a random insult and make some sort of vague reference to stuff being different in other countries but you've not actually said anything. The sensible assumption there is: you have nothing. Show us otherwise or don't.
People have become complacent and forgotten the benefits achieved by unions over the decades.
Everything the working class achieved has been through union intervention,Tories don’t want us having rights👌
I've been a union rep for 10yrs I've negotiated for better pay and conditions, employees rights and benefits for my members and non members over this period. Unfortunately like this guy who are not a member of the union have gained of unions and the members hard work to stop employers exploitation. Believe me an employer would give you nothing if they legally could. That's why more workers need to become members of there union the bigger the resistance the stronger we are. It's not about power happy it's about looking after those that can't look after themselves. Well said James and thank you for sticking up for the unions.
I've retired last year but I honestly think management have had it easy for years and got rich off our labours. Nobody wants it to be like the 70s , nobody strikes for fun . The Tories will change labour laws from under your feet .
Let’s hope that one thing that comes out of the appalling behaviour of the Tories to trade union officials is that people actually learn something about them.
@David Young very nasty unions trying to keep workforces from loosing jobs, staying safe and getting somewhat pleasant terms and conditions such as sick pay, maternity leave and reasonable pay. Nasty, nasty unions.
Maybe the rmt will pave the way for others to stand up to this government and say enough is enough. Maybe you’ll benefit from it.
@David Young the tories are pretty nasty yes...
They're destroying the economy by striking.
The trouble is that there are millions of deluded individuals like this one who think that somehow they have personally and individually achieved a great deal for themselves.
@@michaelgoode9555 "I'll negotiate". Yeah because they would happily negotiate with him annual leave when they can hire anyone else with no annual leave 😂 These guys need to do some research on what employment used to be like before we had these rights. They taught it in my school in Humanitarian class didn't they do that with everyone?
Everything worth having in this country is the result of agitation by the Unions. No Tory governments have introduced major social legislation. It has been Labour governments who are responsible for that. Businesses can function without a CEO . The workforce will keep it running. No workforce - no business. In the 3 decades after WW2 ordinary folk saw their living standards rise as never before. Since 1979 wages have stagnated. The 6th richest country in the world enjoys living standards that are 22nd in the world. Reason? The hobbling of organised labour. Our competitors welcome the Unions. The Germans work with organised labour. That's why they are much more successful than us and they always will be. Rugged individualism is hopeless. Collective action is the way forward.
He's tugged his forelock so hard his brain fell out.......
Total muppet, bring back child labour, workhouses, 14 hour shifts, no holidays, blah blah blah, thank you James, some sanity in a cowardly new world
It is sad that there are so many people, me included until I was about 25, that believe unions and union action is a bad thing.
I am not saying that unions are perfect but nothing gets done without disrupting a few people (workers rights, women's suffrage, civil rights movement - aka heroes)and these days I am very very happy to disrupt the super rich.
It took me a while to see the benefits of a strong Union against an employer who would happily sabotage any workers rights given the chance. I used to see the Unions as more of a trouble maker than worker protection. How wrong I was!
Unions are necessary and id always be a member. Doesn't mean I necessarily agree with every strike action taken.
I find it hard to understand how collective workers rights could ever be seen as a bad thing, no matter what age you are or were. Please educate me on why you thought unions were bad before you were 25, what reasoning were you coming to? I'm genuinely flummoxed, I thought everybody understood the importance of worker representation.
Sorry, should have read"Apparently you are mistaken my friend"
Same here although more like in my 50s, up to that ponit I was too busy earning money and ignored politics, then began to realise how much ALL governments take away our rights, I now support unions & striking, and only wish non union company employees would stick together and make their employers take notice.
I remember when we worked on saturdays and when it was abolished what a row came from the employers how are we going to manage and it was a nine hour day except saturdays which was six hours. For holiday pay we paid for stamps. If off work for any reason to get a stamp you had to complete a full week. This was the 1950's. The factory owner when he built his factory built the houses close to the works. Rent was part of your wages if you fell out with your boss you not only lost your job but you lost your. home as well. Some of the wool barons also owned the shops and would only accept the coinage minted at the mill or foundary. This started the Co-operative movement owned by the working classes who obtained a co-op number and dividends were paid from profits each quarter on presenting that number. Very little is taught on this history in schools and what is is glossed over or sanitised. But if the laws were changed today the employers would be quick to take advantage. Just take the recent action by a ferry company at Dover. Viewers have been enjoying Gentleman Jack on the TV a real person based on her diarys filmed at the original home. In the yard is a coal truck pushed by children underground in one of her mines. We saw in the last episode her politcs about supporting the Blue.
Right wing rage gets you the BNP. Left wing rage gets you the NHS.
....left wing rage? Let's not mention the Cambodian killing fields.
I see what you’re saying but left wing rage has led to some particularly dark chapters in human history as well.
@@matthewsocal2540 little englander rage🐟🐟🐟
🇪🇺🇬🇧🇺🇦🇪🇺
@@jim-es8qk that’s an exception not the rule
It is a common fallacy to believe the left gave us the NHS. Churchill's war time government created the NHS after promising everyone who served free healthcare for life.
it wasn't until I read EP Thompson, the Making of the English Working Class, that I realised how hard our ancestors fought for the right to form a union, and I was never taught anything about the working class struggle while at school (50s & 60s),I oft wonder why?
This same level of idiocy is going to see us free from human rights soon too. Utter genius 🤦🏼♀️
People don't realise how close we are to the knock on the door in the middle of the night.
Classic James. Holds the mirror up and the caller doesnt like what he sees
Some people have ZERO knowledge.
Some people have ZERO intelligence too
@@Dogsgrove But how often are they the same people?
Amazing how the upper classes get the working classes to call up national radio to argue againt their own best interests.
When I was a Union Rep, I regularly had to step in to represent and defend members who had contracts that the employer was crapping all over.
Likewise.
Ditto.
Many employers are more than happy to bully and harass their staff, knowing that if there's no/weak union representation, they're almost untouchable, and if you don't like it, tough.
My stepdaughter put up with horrendous amounts of abuse because she didn't know her rights, and her rep was ineffective. She had to fight tooth and nail to get what was owed to her, but because I helped her with it, she was successful.
@@mcdon2401 THIS - glad there was a happy ending to that story as often theres not
Did being a union rep ever affect your chances of career progression? I once worked with a man who was told to stop being a union rep in order to get a promotion.
@@skylarius3757 guess it depends what you want. I get far more satisfaction being a thorn in the side of management (even though I'm no longer a rep), and I haven't the slightest interest in joining a group who would gleefully stab you in the front, never mind the back 🤣
How have we come to a situation , where working people are very happy to shoot themselves in the foot by denigrating the unions, and asking themselves what have they ever done for me? Let me tell you, minimum holiday and sickness entitlement, abolition of child labour, improved worker safety, improved parental leave among other things.
"Why are you arguing for making things worse not just for yourself but for the majority of your fellow citizens?"
"Because the PM who is a proven liar told me who was to blame for literally everything and I passionately believe that without even entertaining the idea that there might be another side to the story or what the potential consequences could be!"
Individualism.
People are not educated to be free thinkers or pluralists
This man is talking himself out of things that benefit him and his colleagues🤷🏻♂️ scary times.
This caller needs an education, badly. 'How would you do that?' - 'negotiate with the employer and you have an employment contract'..... I don't even know what to say, pure idiocy.
Thick as mince springs to mind.
I can't understand why Britain can't see what this Gov't is doing to the working mans rights. And now there is no EU laws to protect workers rights yes we are back in the 1800s. The lack of comprehension of the dire straights workers rights are in in the UK is flabbergasting. When will they wake up?
They are waking up. Look at the increasing strikes.
The ignorance of some in the British public is frightening. No wonder the government gets away with so much.
well said hugh
Murdoch has done such a number on the people of the English speaking world ...look at what swaths of us have become
As mildly amusing as this is, as witnessed by many spot on comments, it really is profoundly depressing that there is this scale of ignorance out there and that these dangerous knuckle draggers can vote.
This type probably still wears a face mask and swallowed the covid scam hook ,line and sinker . The Goverment love people like this that believe this anti union propaganda and Goverment speak false stop .
It's the propaganda media
i agree its quite upsetting to see idiots have such nonchalant opinions about things that will ultimately effect them and their children. absolute stupidity at it finest, its no wonder the government keep taking us for fools.
oh shut up Fred...you act as if bunch of ignorant knuckle draggers would vote for Brexit without understanding any of the implications. 😉
I don’t think it is ignorance. It’s more that there is a certain number of people (typically boomers) who don’t need union representation because “I’m alright Jack” and they despise the fact that others (who aren’t as valuable to their employer or who are poor and have little agency) have access to representation that can give them more power than the boomers feel they deserve.
Painful listening, the ignorance of the caller was disturbing, but fortunately James was able to put across a well balanced counter argument where reasonable people could follow and come to a fair and balanced judgement.
This poor man has been completely manipulated to go against his own interests
The drip drip effect of propaganda
Tell a lie often enough it becomes the truth.
B. Johnson
You can almost hear the gears in the guy's head as James feeds him notions that he's never even contemplated before. He thinks everything is there by some kind of divine right.
The caller was punching in the wrong division he need to drop down from heavy weight pillock.
"my contact will protect me" that contract being written to contain standards won by unions. this dude is desperate to go back to a time when kids died inside factories and chimneys and labourers suffered from rickets because they never got to spend time outside.
The amount of things won by unions that are endless. Everyone who works in this country has benefited from the work of unions!
Top tip……have some idea 💡 of what you’re talking about before phoning in….
All these working class right wingers really think the richest of the rich like them and want to treat them with respect... I'm sorry but they don't
These people are the new middle class. Ignore how much the mega rich take out, focus on getting a better deal than the majority for your self. The Unions where created to fight the middle class for a fair share.
ive forwarded this on to my 20yr old son who thinks unions are redundant and workers who strike are the problem! I genuinely despair at his understanding of the fundamental right to strike. I blame the parents😳🔫
when he asked the guy 'do you know where you'd be happy?', I thought the answer was the United States.
Turns out, it was 1852.
Says a lot about the United States.
"At the end of the day, everything I get, I negotiate myself". Does this guy understand what a union is and what it does? Does he not understand that he has the negotiating power of one person and companies tend to not fear one person because one person is easily replaceable. Now you coordinate a work force's power into one entity. What is the company going to do? Replace everybody? I have two letters for you: P & O. That went well for them didn't it? The public backlash, the political backlash that then followed the public one.
Companies pay alot more attention to a union than they would you. You could be their star workerYou'd still be easily replaceable.
Caller is clearly 'matey I'm alright Jack'.
This tool think the employment rights he enjoys were a gift from the employers rather than hard fought for rights won by the union movement.
Twice in my life unions have saved my job because the bosses just said I didn't have a job anymore. Never could have negotiated it on my own.
Well done James. Bravo!
Legend. People love to bash unions (and they have their problems), but people forget what it was like before they existed.
It's more likely they conveniently choose not to research what life was like for the average worker 200 years ago. It would totally destroy their arguments.
These are people who are keeping Boris in office if you ever wondered who wants to keep him there 🤔
The greatest trick the Tories ever pulled was to get the workers to empathise with _employers'_ wants and needs more than they do with the wants and needs of workers like themselves.
You stand no chance of negotiating for yourself if there are many more employees, the chances are the employer will let you go.
With zero hour contracts, one employee benefits at the expense of another so that none of them can get enough hours, earn enough money or break free from the control of the Universal Credit vampire.
"Let you go" is a Tory euphemism. Sacked, is the word you're looking for.
Yep, individuals who didn't just accept what they were offered by the employer wouldn't be hired in the first place.
i used to work in Waitrose and one of the younger women that worked with me in a group threw a complete tantrum one day over the bs they were putting our groups through... she threatened to just leave. Oh it got our immediate team leader and lower level managers attention and the young woman was told things would change. The next 2 or 3 days for her were better but then they slid back again. they just make token efforts to appease you without any proper representation. IIRC the young woman quit a month later. IMHO you should just quit as the blackmail of quitting doesnt work
Years ago I worked for a start up company in London, where no one was in any type of union. I was unwell for a while, and was made to feel as though I had to pack in the job, so I did and left London, and ended that career and ended up doing other things. However, if I had of been in a union, I'm sure it would have helped and I could of just been off work for a month or two, then returned to my job, and continued in that career. The owner has since been given a life peerage and is sitting in the House of Lords, with a job for life that pays £300 daily expenses.
And that caller is allowed to vote!! 🤦🤦🤦🤦🤦
The number of people who enjoy the benefits that trade unions have negotiated while simultaneously being anti-trade union beggars belief
When I was working in a garage and was being genuinely discriminated against and bullied, my trade union rep sorted it out and did a bostin job, making sure people were punished for their actions, and when my leg muscle torn on the way to work and it took 6 months to recover, the trade union jumped in on my behalf to stop the company firing me for something that wasn't my fault, second I leave that job and go for a semi-self employed contactor job, the company could and did get shot of me after 3 years because they felt like it and I didn't have a leg to stand on, I was begging for union representation then, this bloke don't know what he has in terms of employment privileges and what the great unions have done for us.
No offence but if your builder slipped in his shower and did his back in, would you still pay his wages?
@@agt155 if he was self employed then no...but as a self employed person he should have insurance to cover that. I honestly think you are clueless about working practices and you may be better off not posting
@@agt155 Patently not, but in his costings your builder would have included insurance against such an occurrence, so you would still be making a contribution towards covering the cost of his accident.
@@danteshydratshirt2360 ..that's because you have a narrow mind.
@@agt155 That being the case, you should keep clear of such a cheapskate as he won't stay in business long, what you describe is a self employed bricky with little business acumen, who would likely walk out on the job when things went pear shaped. The insurance would not only protect the builder's interest, it would also protect yours.
The whole idea revolves around "That could never happen to me, I am too important to my employer and so smart, that I can negotiate my own contract and be better off with it." But the truth is, without unions and workers rights you either take the conditions you are offered or you can sleep under a bridge. And better start looking for a second or third job, too. Look at the US, do you really want to end up like them? If you go after workers rights there is only one kind of person benefiting, and it's not the worker.
My word the absolute ignorance of the caller, he thinks having a contract in place stops employers dismissing their staff.
Hes just been lucky enough to never have been unfairly fired, and has no what his rights are.
James O'Brien is beginning to grow on me.....Employers will always find a way of getting rid of a person they don't want,wether a contract is in place or not unfortunately 🇬🇧
@@johnmccann5104 What does he think happens if an employer breaches a contract anyway? The only enforcement is the Courts, which is inaccessible for many employees.
@@laurenhyatt9006Hi Lauren......Things are certainly changing in 2022. ....Employers in the current market can easily get rid of an employee by claiming the needs of their business has changed. Every business I know (I work in hospitality) is basically quieter now than it was pre covid. Lots of pubs have closed their doors and won't be reopening along with restaurants and night clubs. Most are operating on 30% less staff but Boris still claims more people are working ....Its really not looking very prosperous for the coming months unfortunately
What have the Romans ever done for us...? Brilliant, James!
Absolute truth James, every benefit that working people have,( weekends off,holidays with pay,sick pay, tea break,safety in the work place, protective equipment,) none of this was given through the the kindness of employers,it was achieved by the unions, and sadly people have forgotten that and need to be reminded every day,
The caller and the many people like him are all of the idea that "it won't happen to me because ...... blah blah blah" This is Privilege, just like the man squatting in No.10.
Remember having a civil service interview in 1978 when I was asked as a mum was I hoping to have more pregnancies???...in 1978.
I have been a proud union member ever since
Look to America if you want to see the impact of lack of no trade unions i.e. individualised bargaining in an industrialised nation
...and great productivity.
they have great holidays /s
@@agt155 slavery is productive
@@danteshydratshirt2360 Nope
@@agt155 Whose side are you on - the corporations? No parental leave, 14 days holiday after many years of employment, ability to sack without cause, terrible terms and conditions unless you are in the top 10%
When he finished with you'll be happy 😊 at 18:52...I expected the 1 man negotiating machine to say but I'm in my bed then...😴
" But some people want to be slaves, derp derp derp "
It shows through History a certain type of Man went along with he's slavery because he was weak and lazy .
@@natashawatson385 That’s marriage innit? 😳
@@natashawatson385 They do it to impress people with a higher status in life because their ego cons them into thinking it will improve their status too if they be more like them. I bet this guy is the first one to roll over and show his belly when the board turns up to the office for a meeting.
The average person still hasn’t realised they’re giving up their rights slowly and the choice to say no will be taken away.
UK sheeple are educated to think, the king and queen gave them all these rights they have, over the last 200 years lol
The caller probably doesn't regard himself as privileged, yet he enjoys a huge amount of benefits that other people had to fight so hard to get for him (i.e. paid leave, sick pay, weekends, maximum hours per week, etc). He doesn't recognise his privileges therefore he doesn't recognise the past achievements of the unions, therefore he doesn't understand what unions can do for him now
I have heard enough. Our children are uneducated until they are taught,in detail, how trade unions work, how they started and which country invented them and why ordinary working people are lacking if they are not a member of a trade union.
Oh no, we can’t have that - how would Tory governments and huge corporations turn the public at large against unionisation if people knew that trade unions represent their interests?
Trade unions started in middle ages, they are direct continuations of medieval trade guilds! Trade unions are archaic organizations that should be abolished!
@@StarWarrior008 You obviously have no clue what you're talking about.
@@roboldx9171 You obviously have no arguments!
What is so sad to me is that Tolpuddle has a Tory MP.
Not got a clue , has he ever worked for companies like Sports Direct. Where a woman had a child in a cloakroom or you turn up for your 12 hour shift and sent home without pay. Holiday pay now calculated on an average of your wage over so many weeks was once you got paid the bare minimum of hours. That's what leaving the EU was all about becoming a deregulated sweatshop , Singapore without the sunlit uplands.
I'm sure he's negotiating his holiday pay with his employers who have him on zero hours contract
LBC switchboard pick another muppet for Jobby to talk over and condescend to.
Caller, there are employment contracts for some called 'zero hours contract' (curtsey of the 'Gig economy')- you trot into work each day and if they have work, you work that day for as many or few hours as they decide. And if they don't want you, you go home, bus fare wasted. You work weekends and whatever shifts they want to offer. You get unpaid holiday, but if you take it, they will most likely not have you back. This is real, we have it NOW, I had family working it. They want this for everyone. How can you plan your life never knowing if you are going to earn a crust for each and every single day.
Job insecurity is another tool to keep people in 'their place'.
I think zero hour contracts are ok for under 18s because they don’t usually have to worry much about paying bills because they mostly still live with parents and some may contribute a bit towards bills, but not loads. Over 18 zero hour contracts shouldn’t be allowed because when ur an adult ur going to want to think about moving out of ur parents house at some point so ur going to want a job with a guaranteed salary so u can rely on ur salary to pay rent or mortgage, buy food and pay the bills. On a zero hour contract u don’t have that reliability because if they don’t need u, u go home and don’t get paid or if ur sick no sick pay
@@Tom-ci4wn No - if the under 18 yo CAN make the company a profit then they need to be paid accordingly and need to have the same protection as other workers. Zero hour contracts also mean no paid holidays and no planable schedule. Why is the time of a young person (their free time) less valuable than the life time of a person over 20 or over 40 ?? It also is an incentive to skip the planning and let the workers (young or not) compensate for that with THEIR LOST TIME.
@@Tom-ci4wn If they cannot make the company a profit they WILL NOT BE HIRED - never mind the age so why discriminate based on age (or supposed need for money). Having to treat them like other staff is also a strong incentive to train new / young team members well and to make sure the more experienced team members integrate them well and mentor them. In Germany or Austria is is not allowed to have zero hour contracts for anyone, schedules must be announced in advance so that the employee can plan (their free time and private life). There are also limits what kind of breaks can be imposed on a person. The rules are more employeer friendly in the hospitality industry, where the employees often have board and have a longer break on the afternoon. But else there must be a reasonable balance between work time and the duration of breaks.
Minors must be paid full wages (I think they must be at least 14 or 15 to be employable). - Usually they get minimum wage or the minimum of the bargaining contract for their industry. But they cannot be paid less than that for being a minor, nor do they have to show more flexibility than other staff or have to put up with other discrimination.
When they work summer jobs they get paid their share of holidays, they normally cannot take them. And they must get the extra wages (in Austria almost all industries have 14 wages, the 2 bonus payments are commonly called the Holiday and Christmas money, and that kind of extra payment is also very common in Germany). So if a 16 yo works for 1 month they get a little more than 2 paid holidays and one twelth part of 2 full monthly salaries.
The number of hours a young person can work is up for negotiation can be up to 40 hours, but they are not allowed to make overtime (or it is restricted - the company is very restricted in asking for that. And they cannot work night shifts - 10 pm to 5 am).
Of course a minor that still goes to school will not hold a full time job. Or any job, usually the parents and kids are eager to get a job for the summer holidays.
If a minor has completed the mandatory 9 or 10 years of basic education they can start to work (40 hours) and will have to be paid like a legal adult. Either the legal minimum, what the collective bargaining mandates or the company additionally does have an agreement about wages (usually with the board of labour).
And then there are apprenticeships. Those put a lot of burdens on the employers (after a trial period they must keep the apprentice for full 3 years. Those contracts are for 40 hours per week (or 38 or whatever is the standard time in the industry) they get paid much less than a simple unskilled worker BUT they must be trained, cannot be used for repetitive simple work only, their employer must present a plan to the Chamber of Commerce of how they plan to train them *, they got to school (1 day per week for approx. 40 weeks - or they are away for a time in a boarding school for their industry).
* that plan is not a big deal, large companies or ones that always have apprentices will not have to prove they have a plan - but a new, small company or one with only one or few staff members may be asked how the apprentice is going to be mentored. And there needs to be a certain ratio between staff and apprentices. A one person company might get away with having one apprentice, but they better make sure to explain how a wide range of tasks are going to be covered and what the apprentice is going to do when the mentor or biz owners is absent.
But a larger outfit (let's say 5 hair stylists will not be paired with 5 apprentices, 2 will be O.K. and their will be sufficient capacities to instruct and supervise them and to use them in a productive manner.
Likewise one maintainance team in an industrial plant with maybe 10 trained workers will have 1 - 2 apprentices at all times. Maybe one trained as electrician and 1 trained as mechanic or tool maker.
I vividly recall a Thatcher led Tory government being very keen on people having proper trade union rights, representation and recognition. Unfortunately that was only for the people of Poland!
If the caller detests trade unions so much, why won't he give up all the benefits he enjoys, hard fought for and won by trade unionism. Until he does that, he will always be just another hypocrite not worth entering into dialogue with.
James by a fkn knockout
Its really made me focus on what the trade unions have done in past and how we (as a general) now treat them as a nuisance and are blaming them for the railway strikes as opposed to the government or the employers. Its been misrepresented in the news as well I think as its in protest to the mass redundancies and technology changes making jobs obsolete.