Which Trades Union for IT Contractors ?

[ladymuck]

The question really is what do you want from joining a Union? As an IT Contractor, what union membership benefits are you looking for?

Spot on. No-one can say what's best if the OP doesn't know what they want/need.

[SueEllen]

Unions are a thing of the 19th and early 20th century they have become totally useless and should be banned

No they are not - ask a teacher who a pupil has accused of abuse. The current cases against Uber and courier companies are be conducted with the help of unions.

[Eirikur]

No they are not - ask a teacher who a pupil has accused of abuse. The current cases against Uber and courier companies are be conducted with the help of unions.

The teacher and uber workers can go to court. The uber and courier cases can actually turn out very bad for us contractors

[eek]

The teacher and uber workers can go to court. The uber and courier cases can actually turn out very bad for us contractors

Why? I have no problem with fake self-employment being called out as fake self-employment...

What I actually dislike is people pretending to be self-employed for tax reasons and customer convenience when in reality they should be employees.

[ladymuck]

The problem with the Uber and courier cases, is that they still don't give a cut and dried picture. Some of the workers are happy with their status, and others are not. Some of the rulings are therefore (espcially wrt to couriers more so than Uber) person specific rather than industry wide.

I agree with eek that highlighting false self-employment, especially where it's used by employers to avoid their liabilities and deny worker rights, is a good thing.

[TheFaQQer]

The uber and courier cases can actually turn out very bad for us contractors

Where someone is falsely self-employed for tax purposes (whether that is for the individual or for the company that should be employing them), that should be called out and prevented as far as possible.

What do you think would be bad about that for contractors?

[CoolCat]

No they are not - ask a teacher who a pupil has accused of abuse. The current cases against Uber and courier companies are be conducted with the help of unions.

Teaching is another trade where the insidious influence of trade unions is apparent. For example the complete absence of men in infant school teaching is largely down to discrimination fostered and supported by the unions. As is the politically correct dogma forced down trainee teachers throats as part of their training.

So Teaching is a perfect example of everything that is wrong with unions, hypocritical, two faced, and so on.

[bobspud]

Unions will only be interested in you if you are in permanent employment.

They view contractors as money-grabbing aberrations.

Join IPSE if you want a voice.

No longer true. When the IR35 debacle happened earlier this year, by chance I met a couple of trade unionists in a bar. They were down for a conference but had said that the Unions are very interested in contractors as they view them as a potential growth market. This is why they have been fighting the Uber / City Sprint cases.

Would join one just yet but watch them carefully

[NotAllThere]

Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy in action. Teaching unions exist to further the power of teaching unions - not to improve teaching, or even, really, a teacher's lot.

[SueEllen]

Teaching is another trade where the insidious influence of trade unions is apparent. For example the complete absence of men in infant school teaching is largely down to discrimination fostered and supported by the unions. As is the politically correct dogma forced down trainee teachers throats as part of their training.

So Teaching is a perfect example of everything that is wrong with unions, hypocritical, two faced, and so on.

How odd - the male primary school teachers I met, know and shared a house with had no issues getting work. Neither did the make secondary school teachers.

Unfortunately many, like most of the female teachers I know, left teaching because they could deal with the tulip coming from different directions. Incidentally none of them included the kids when describing that tulip.