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unions

link on 2006-10-21T21:15:44

I had a job interview today and it turns out they are unionised. I hadn't really thought about it before the interview as most IT people I know are not in a union. At the moment in theory my pay increase is linked to how well I do , I'm not sure how I would feel about moving to a job where that isn't true. Unions invoke a negative vibe in me but I guess that may be linked to the fact almost no one I know is a member of one.

Which union?

brian_d_foy on 2006-10-22T06:35:50

Which union do the IT people belong to?

Re:Which union?

link on 2006-10-22T17:27:36

I think he said they were in SIPTU.

I worked someplace where...

jordan on 2006-10-22T18:32:15

some IT workers were members of The IBEW.

I wasn't in the union. My job was exempt for reasons that weren't entirely clear to me.

Re:I worked someplace where...

link on 2006-10-22T18:57:02

Exempt as in you didn't have to join or as in you couldn't?

Re:I worked someplace where...

jordan on 2006-10-24T22:07:57

Exempt as in you didn't have to join or as in you couldn't?

Great question! I know I didn't have to, I don't know if I could. I believe that I could not, but I'm not sure.

Unions

Abigail on 2006-10-23T09:28:07

I am a union member, and my only regret is that I didn't join earlier. In my previous job, job benefits were negiotated by the union. Meaning that I was getting more pay than I got with any other employer I had. While working 10% less hours. And getting more vacation days. And having more holidays than most other people (do you get the afternoon of on your birthday? - I did) And when the new owners of the company wanted to switch from a bonus based on profits to a bonus based on individual performance, the unions let them pay off the profit based bonus with a pay rise equivalent to the average of the bonus of the last three years. And when the company had to let me go (because the new owners were changing the company from a software producer to a service provider) it took just one phone call to a laywer. Paid for by the union.

And that for EUR 15/month - EUR 180/year. But since I'm a union member, my ensurance company gives me a rebate of about EUR 100/year.

If I were to look for a new company again, a unionised company would be a big plus for me.