Answer the call: join a union

                           Answer the call: join the union.

Answer the call: Raising wages and professionalism in call centres, marks the start of a month of campaigning on behalf of call centre workers world-wide. Although staff in call centres around the world are generally on fairly low pay, there is a report that suggests many of the employees are highly skilled and highly qualified.

The report states that in India, staff earn on average, less than 32 rupees (less than 50p) per day.

72% of French call centre workers are university educated but earn less than 65% of the national average.

The story at home is similar with many British call centres employing ex teachers and ex solicitors among their ranks. The average wage in Britain for a call centre operative is just £17,433.

In comparison the average national wage is £31,511 for men, while women on average earn £24,469.

A customer service representative in a call centre where there is collective bargaining with a trade a union earns on average 7% more than none unionised workers.

The wildly varying reward depending on the type of job you do, along with the misconception that call centre operatives are worth less than some manual jobs needs addressing urgently.

One way to improve the situation is clearly by more workers joining trade unions. A worker on £17000 would be £1190 a year on average better off if they belong to a trade union.  The cost of belonging to a trade union is on average, less than £170 per annum.

So why is it, that so few of our major work forces enjoy the benefits of a recognised trade union?

Many none union members claim they are against the political side of unions and are unwilling to pay the political levy. They don’t realise that there is an opt-out clause or exactly what the levy does. The political levy paid to the unions is so that organised trade unions can hold the government of the day to account, whichever party may occupy Downing Street.
Historically the trade union movement has been influential in fighting for many of the employment rights we all enjoy and take for granted today. Maternity leave and paid holidays, health and safety, and equality in the work place would probably not exist without the pressure exerted on governments and business from the union movement.

Some people see unions as the dinosaurs from the 1970’s that were blamed for much of the trouble at that time. They see union representatives and leaders as militants, out for a fight and to line their own pockets.

The modern trade union is much less aggressive. It is instrumental in helping people from all walks of life including the unemployed. Unite the union offers community membership for just 50p a week. This contribution entitles members to benefits such as access to legal help and assistance with C.V writing and job finding skills and debt counselling.

A far cry from the turbulent ‘70’s, the modern union has learning representatives who’s remit is to facilitate up-skilling of members in core subjects such as English and Maths. There are health and safety representatives with a mandate to ensure safe working practices, and there are equalities representatives working tirelessly to ensure minorities are treated fairly.

Many elected union representatives are volunteers, giving up their free time to improve the lives and working conditions of their members. Trade councils meet monthly across the country, for free, to organise demonstrations against policies such as the hated bedroom tax or cuts to probation services that will inevitably put dangerous criminals back onto the streets prematurely. Delegates affiliated from many different trade unions contribute donations from branches to various causes and campaigns.

 Without the trade union movement it would be left for the millionaire political classes to thrash out between themselves what is best for us, the workers.

The current government want to dilute worker’s rights with schemes like the rights for shares idea. They asked millionaire businessman Lord Beecroft, a venture capitalist, to suggest changes to employment law. The Beecroft report suggested making it easier to hire and fire workers with no fault necessary. The Lib-Dems claim they saved us from many of his suggestions and years of Labour governments did little to strengthen the role of trade unions.

A recent survey revealed that the number of people interested in politics was increasing while the number of people who trusted politicians was in decline. This supports the argument that trade unions have a legitimate role to play in responsible politics and in supporting the countries hard working men and women to earn a decent living in decent conditions.

The unions are not of course entirely blameless for the situation. They need to be more vocal and more proactive in telling the masses the real benefits of trade unions. They need to expel the myths of union barons living in luxury and union rep’s being work shy skivers.

They need to extinguish the belief that unions defend the wrongs of workers and promote the fact that they defend the rights of workers. They strive for fairness- Fairness in the workplace and fairness in society.

Trade union representatives and leaders are normal working men and women from ordinary working backgrounds living in normal houses, on normal estates in touch with real issues.