3.56 per week

walkthewalk · Post by **walkthewalk** » 16 Dec 2016, 08:01

CWU subs now cost £3.56 per week (£185.12 per annum) for full timers and I now question myself WHY! I've always been a union member and followed this splendid website for a long time now and all I read on here is fellow workers moaning and saying their union rep has a cushy job and in cahoots with the manager which just so happens in our office, so my question is why do we put up with it, I have just read a thread on here about working to rule which resulted in the office making part timers upto full timers there was no mention of the union rep sorting the problem out beforehand plus I have always stated that it's not the people who employ us it's the colleagues you work with who are the problem (runners & start before time etc) saying all that any group of workers need a voice it appears our CWU have lost theirs.

Rant over have a Merry Christmas everyone by Jove we've earned it

beanmuncha · Post by **beanmuncha** » 16 Dec 2016, 13:53

I am sorry but i really have to reply to this,
I am a Rep, my life is anything but cushy, i Have a good relationship with my Manager yes but that is the best way to go forward
he listens when i suggest something or want to divert a crisis, we try to resolve a problem before it really becomes a problem.
I have members phoning me any time they require a bit of advise, days off, on holiday etc i am not moaning because it is the
position i volunteered for and they voted for me. And i think i do it well, I can not say that all reps are the same but the most of them that
i deal with take it seriously and do it the best they can, if you think your rep is useless replace him, do it yourself or get someone who
can don't just moan about it. We do not get paid anything extra for what we do, but some of us actually care about our friends and
colleagues not ourselves.
As for the increase we have no control over it and i agree it is too much, but so are a lot of things.

Rant over Happy Christmas walkthewalk

Creditshampoo · Post by **Creditshampoo** » 16 Dec 2016, 15:09

Our union did f all when we wanted part timers made up. Took alot of working to rule but we got there. Surely the union would like the increased weekly subs but there you go

Post by **wacko74** » 16 Dec 2016, 15:13

Am I right in saying that figure includes ''opt in''... then your opting to make a contribution to the Labour party?

Not sure how much of your sub makes up the donation but I'm assuming you can ''opt out'' and avoid contributing to a basket case of a political party that hasn't held true to it's original values for at least 20 years now.

Post by **redheadedwoman** » 16 Dec 2016, 15:51

beanmuncha wrote:I am sorry but i really have to reply to this,
I am a Rep, my life is anything but cushy, i Have a good relationship with my Manager yes but that is the best way to go forward
he listens when i suggest something or want to divert a crisis, we try to resolve a problem before it really becomes a problem.
I have members phoning me any time they require a bit of advise, days off, on holiday etc i am not moaning because it is the
position i volunteered for and they voted for me. And i think i do it well, I can not say that all reps are the same but the most of them that
i deal with take it seriously and do it the best they can, if you think your rep is useless replace him, do it yourself or get someone who
can don't just moan about it. We do not get paid anything extra for what we do, but some of us actually care about our friends and
colleagues not ourselves.
As for the increase we have no control over it and i agree it is too much, but so are a lot of things.

Rant over Happy Christmas walkthewalk

fishtank · Post by **fishtank** » 16 Dec 2016, 16:11

I've probably been a rep longer than most on here and although there is some truth to it, getting defensive and saying things like "if you don't like, do it yourself" is utterly pointless. It simply disengages members in poorly represented offices and ultimately leads to fewer members. Some of these reps are stuck like glue through a combination of looking after their mates and support from branch (more matey mates). We have to face facts, there are some poorly represented offices and branches out there and like an alcoholic the first step is admitting you have a problem.

SpongeBobPants · Post by **SpongeBobPants** » 16 Dec 2016, 16:25

I've found my rep to be very helpful and I'm really glad I can turn to him. I trust him completely. Having said that, there's clearly quite a few reps/offices which aren't like this. Do people go to the area rep if their rep isn't helping?

WOBBLY · Post by **WOBBLY** » 16 Dec 2016, 16:32

We no longer have a rep and no-body wants/has time to commit to the job (I don't blame them tbh, its a thankless job!)

DB1100 · Post by **DB1100** » 16 Dec 2016, 18:36

We have a very good rep,trouble is he is besieged by idiots with stupid problems who think that the rep is some sort of miracle worker,we had one person who wanted to put a grievance in about the price of a snickers bar in the vending machine,another one who wanted to opt out of delivering pizza leaflets because she was a veggie.

Postie45 · Post by **Postie45** » 16 Dec 2016, 20:31

you think things are bad at RM now ? take the union out and see what it would be like.....

Post by **aiden01** » 16 Dec 2016, 22:00

DB1100 wrote:We have a very good rep,trouble is he is besieged by idiots with stupid problems who think that the rep is some sort of miracle worker,we had one person who wanted to put a grievance in about the price of a snickers bar in the vending machine,another one who wanted to opt out of delivering pizza leaflets because she was a veggie.

rubberbond · Post by **rubberbond** » 17 Dec 2016, 12:51

Postie45 wrote:you think things are bad at RM now ? take the union out and see what it would be like.....

Most sensible thing I've read in a while. It's not that bad value really,depends on the rep really,ours is good,our previous area rep was bloody brilliant, can't comment on his replacement yet,but the DOM doesn't like him,so a good start.

bigbazza · Post by **bigbazza** » 17 Dec 2016, 13:21

The 2 rep's in our office (It's a large office covering 7 post codes) are excellent both will do anything for you and have saved a few people from losing their job's in the past.
I know some people think they get it easy but i have known one of them walking to gone after 5 pm to finish a walk or clear cut off's.
So whether you like them or not they do a great job and remember they get no financial reward.

Merry christmas.

Whysoslowyehcfc · Post by **Whysoslowyehcfc** » 18 Dec 2016, 09:21

It's not the reps that's the problem, they can only do so much, it's higher up from divisional reps upto people like Bob Gibson who haven't done a days work in years, if at all.
They are so out of touch from what's happening in offices, our office have taken on over 1500 extra delivery points in a year, with at least another 755 more to come (that we know of) in the next 6 months, yet our office is being told that we have to find another 300 hours saving, I've told our area rep that it can't be done and that we need a full Pegasus revision to sort it out..
YET THE AREA REP INSISTS THAT WE DO IT ON THE BACK OF A FAG PACKET,(a tabletop revision if you will), all he says is there's more important things to fight!

walkthewalk · Post by **walkthewalk** » 18 Dec 2016, 14:30

fishtank wrote:I've probably been a rep longer than most on here and although there is some truth to it, getting defensive and saying things like "if you don't like, do it yourself" is utterly pointless. It simply disengages members in poorly represented offices and ultimately leads to fewer members. Some of these reps are stuck like glue through a combination of looking after their mates and support from branch (more matey mates). We have to face facts, there are some poorly represented offices and branches out there and like an alcoholic the first step is admitting you have a problem.

Good reply indeed, just wish (it is Xmas) that fairness played a part in our office instead of the DOM getting his way all the time with our steward acting like a nodding dog you find on the parcel shelf of a car.