Handheld users: view this page better on http://m.socialistparty.org.uk
Reports and Campaigns
Youth tags:
Croxteth Comprehensive School (1)
Educational Maintenance Allowance (3)
Youth Fight for Education (12)
Reports and campaigns:
Stop the slaughter of Tamils (46)
Workplace and TU campaigns (4344)
Related websites
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Highlight keywords |
Print this article |
email to friend
Search site for keywords: Union - Capitalism - Elderly - Jobs - Young workers
The difference a union makes
An east London Socialist Party member
An example of the utter inability of capitalism to answer the basic needs of society, and its young people particularly, was provided to me by my own family recently.
My daughter's boyfriend has a degree which he attained last year. Having recently moved in together, he had been hopeful of finding decent employment with his degree after several low paid jobs.
Aged 23, he was taken on in the South West by a company at a basic salary of £12,000 a year plus 10% on any deal.
The job entailed selling upgrades on mobile phone tariffs, making sure it is appropriate and the customer has a suitable phone or cash back amount, largely as a reward/gift for staying with the same phone company.
Very soon a management consultancy firm came in and took over the recruitment and human resources side of the company. They brought in seven or eight young workers who were previously door-to-door salespeople. They were then set working for 100% commission.
Shortly afterwards my daughter's boyfriend was asked, with reference to job security, to move over to 100% commission sales.
The way in which he has been asked to sell upgrades has changed to firstly telling customers about a 'loyalty scheme' where they are due money back.
This also involves targeting specific groups, often the elderly and people with poor English, in the hope of landing sales on often wholly inappropriate packages.
This has now led to daily earnings of as little as £20 a day or less and a move from monthly to weekly (cash) wages.
There was no union organisation in the workplace.
But our discussion revealed to both my daughter and her boyfriend the differences for workers between unionised workplaces, such as mine, and non-unionised workplaces such as his and the one my daughter works in.
Join us today!
Related links:
PCS conference votes for more joint action against cuts
AEI Cables: "Thrown out in disgraceful circumstances"
National Shop Stewards Network
Leadership shows weakness at CWU conference
Interview with RMT assistant general secretary candidate
The battle to defend pensions continues
Brighton Socialist Party: The psychological and social effects of capitalism
JP Morgan: banksters at it again
Why I joined the Socialist Party
France: A weekend that shocked Europe
Care home closures in Sheffield
Southern Cross - Social care on the brink
UN reports rise in global youth unemployment
Back to work? How the system fails the unemployed
Con-Dems' hypocrisy over children's care
CWU youth conference 'ready and willing to take action'