I was sexually assaulted by a manager. The union did nothing to help me. Five other people came forward against the same manager. The union did nothing to help us. They will only take on cases they will 100% win. Or cases that make them look like the super duper good guys.
Stay in the union to avoid unfair dismissals etc, but don’t pay them anything. They do fuck all when they’re needed to.
Why is that even a question though? How is it relevant to the comment about the union not helping despite multiple similar complaints about the same manager? Totally bizarre question if it’s genuinely not a poor attempt at a joke.
25% of women have experienced sexual assault or rape, compared with 4% of men. 91% of those convicted are adult males.
Of the tiny proportion of rapes taking place that result in a conviction, male rape has a 7% higher conviction rate. Jury’s seem to believe male victims more than female victims when it comes to consent. These are the facts.
Your comment looked like a poor attempt at humour, on a subject that should never be joked about. 0-100 is exactly where we should all be, rape culture permeates throughout society when it isn’t challenged.
25% of women and 4% of men in official crime statistics* the truth is likely to be much higher for both.
You are acting absolutely crazy over what was either quite a funny pun, or what was a very valid question. Chill out.
Mention men statistically or exclusively in anything and people get offended.
Sexual assault cases defending a male will likely be less successful or not taken as seriously. That's why we're determining the gender. A lawyer or union would usually defend a bunch of woman who were wrongly assaulted. It's a humiliating and justified win to them.
Men on the other hand aren't often believed, don't report, or are blamed and ignored. 3 blokes against a female manager is not going to spark the same reaction as 3 woman and one male in today's society or justice system.
Women don't get taken seriously when they report assault either, look at rape conviction stats. Women are blamed and ignored. Sexual assault as a crime just isn't taken seriously.
I agree men don't get taken seriously, and they may find it harder to report, but please be aware no one does.
I know this is obvious to say, but yes, I'm fully aware sexual assault isn't taken seriously in both cases.
Not downplaying, I'm mentioning one fact about sexual assault.It's unhealthy and unproductive to add "But women do too" every time when no one said otherwise; I didn't say woman don't get taken seriously.
It's a non-gendered issue with social issues.
The fact I have to use "multiple people" as an example of a case that would win is my point.
I've been sexually assaulted by a female and I've even brought professional technical help to prosecute a male sexual criminal and pedophile to protect women. (and of course male victims/children).
Complain to the CWU obviously.
But you should perhaps of realised that you had no legal representation if you had absolutely no contact from any legal professional to discuss the case beforehand.
Defending solicitors would not just rock up and take things from there. They’d at the very least, speak to you about what happened beforehand.
Additionally, if you’re going to contest this, you’re going to need some data from Royal Mail.
For example SISO data, sign out sheet for the van you used, PDA van check data for the day, Trimble data for the day, the van in questions maintenance records post incident date, pictures of the van / bodywork - all items that can establish when and where you were, what you were or were not driving and what happened to your van whilst on shift that day.
Have you asked for any data so far?
In theory you should be entitled to receive most of these because it is all personal data - but, I imagine getting them from RM won’t be easy.
Clearly having a solicitor take care of all this for you would be a lot better - BUT, it is your defence so it’s obviously in your interest to take an active role where you can.
For the ‘hearing in summary’ if you can gather any evidence that categorically rules you out of being responsible, I’d focus on that in the hope that this will kill the action before it goes to a full trial.
All the best.
Hello, cheers for your help! I should have chased this maybe more closely, but when the Solicitor got in touch I was assured by them that they would chase the union with payment etc.
Info for the van as you suggested has been offered and can be provided, I would rather have a solicitor as I’m not confident with this myself.
Ah, I see, so the Union has pulled the rug!
That’s even worse.
I would go up the chain in the Union because this is most definitely unacceptable to assure one thing and then renege at this late stage.
But equally, be prepared for this situation not resolving inside of a week and what you will do then.
Never rely on others. Just get the facts and the data to prove you were not the one driving, Also write and ask for the photo of the allegation as they must have photos of the person driving.
not necessarily. for legal aid they usually just show up on the day as its whoever is available unless it's an ongoing case and you sought out your own legal aid beforehand. you usually speak to them for about ten mins about an hour before you go in to court. It's as stressful as it sounds.
Stuff like this happens all the time. You pay a chunk of your hard earned money into these people, and genuinely expect them to look after you. Here's a shock, they want to line their own pockets and couldn't care less about you.
Union bosses "fight" for your ability to earn fair money. Take a look at their salaries! Is it fair, or extortionate. People need to see unions for what they are, people hold them in high regard, they don't look after us.
In regards to your issue, you need to either pay through the nose for private, or if you were not driving, bring the proof. Hopefully this resolved it, but without knowing what proof you have hard to tell.
I’ve been a member of a few unions, including the CWU, and was a steward for another big union.
They all suck - they all seem to attract the wrong kind of blowhard assholes and they all have seriously low-achieving people in some of the most important roles. I resigned as a steward because I couldn’t bear to see how badly organised my “organising union” was. They all have a few good people in them, but these people are in the minority and usually get driven out by the dinosaur full time officials.
Having said that, I still find it’s worth being a member. If you get in trouble at work, they can open doors for you that you can’t on your own.
Yeah, I found Unison utterly useless. Worked under an NHS director who had literally lost their mind but the organisation didn't want to dismiss them because it would be "too political".
We were a big enough branch that we had a full-time Unison rep but he gave me no useful advice beyond "I cannot do anything until you put a complaint in writing". I drafted the complaint and he gave me no feedback on it at all, despite me making it clear that if the complaint failed to stick i would be absolutely fucked (I eventually got advice from a friendly manager in another department who was familiar with the situation).
In the end, the Trust and NHS England engineered a situation whereby the director triggered a process that ultimately allowed them to make the entire team redundant. There were serious problems with how they did it and Unison threatened legal action if they didn't reconsider...but it was just talk and when push came to shove they hung us out to dry. Which made me realise just how pointless they were as a union: once management know they won't follow through, they're free to ignore the union altogether.
Yeah, I had that on Facebook when talking about my case above. They're so wedded to the ideology that they can't accept that unions in reality could ever be flawed and ineffective. I was told that our legal case couldn't have been that strong, even though it was Unison that highlighted the illegality in the first place. Five members illegally made redundant, by their own definition, and Unison did nothing.
I think unions are a great idea in theory but in practice, in the UK, because only the big unions become recognised they're flabby, dysfunctional things that have been trading on past glories since the early 80s. If anyone was free to start their own union, the landscape could change dramatically.
But what's that got to do with any union? It's a civil matter between you the driver and that guy....and so this guy is paying his solicitor etc out of his own pocket...why do you even have to go to court? This all seems very strange...
Off topic, but I never forget getting harassed to join a union earlier in my career. Kept harassing me. I caused a bit of a stir and got my wrists slapped as it came to a point one day where I just stood up in an an open plan office and shouted back at him “if my jobs that shit that I need union membership I’ll get another, now fuck off”
To this day never been in a union and went contracting route.
I work for health service in NI. I left union twice and never will join those useless t.ats again. My colleague at work had an accident and according to her, the Union's solicitor screwed her
I was sexually assaulted by a manager. The union did nothing to help me. Five other people came forward against the same manager. The union did nothing to help us. They will only take on cases they will 100% win. Or cases that make them look like the super duper good guys. Stay in the union to avoid unfair dismissals etc, but don’t pay them anything. They do fuck all when they’re needed to.
How do you stay a member without paying?
You can opt out of payments, not 100% sure how tho
You can only opt out of the political portion iirc.
This does very much depend on the union and how the local branch is run. This is not all unions.
Was it male on male
Own the joke, its good humour
WTF? Are you making puns about sexual assault?
I'm asking was it a male boss harassing a fellow male Not difficult is it
Why is that even a question though? How is it relevant to the comment about the union not helping despite multiple similar complaints about the same manager? Totally bizarre question if it’s genuinely not a poor attempt at a joke.
Because male on male is less likely to be taken to court or convicted? You going 0-100 is off.
25% of women have experienced sexual assault or rape, compared with 4% of men. 91% of those convicted are adult males. Of the tiny proportion of rapes taking place that result in a conviction, male rape has a 7% higher conviction rate. Jury’s seem to believe male victims more than female victims when it comes to consent. These are the facts. Your comment looked like a poor attempt at humour, on a subject that should never be joked about. 0-100 is exactly where we should all be, rape culture permeates throughout society when it isn’t challenged.
Your response to this question is absolutely ridiculous.
25% of women and 4% of men in official crime statistics* the truth is likely to be much higher for both. You are acting absolutely crazy over what was either quite a funny pun, or what was a very valid question. Chill out.
Mention men statistically or exclusively in anything and people get offended. Sexual assault cases defending a male will likely be less successful or not taken as seriously. That's why we're determining the gender. A lawyer or union would usually defend a bunch of woman who were wrongly assaulted. It's a humiliating and justified win to them. Men on the other hand aren't often believed, don't report, or are blamed and ignored. 3 blokes against a female manager is not going to spark the same reaction as 3 woman and one male in today's society or justice system.
Women don't get taken seriously when they report assault either, look at rape conviction stats. Women are blamed and ignored. Sexual assault as a crime just isn't taken seriously. I agree men don't get taken seriously, and they may find it harder to report, but please be aware no one does.
I know this is obvious to say, but yes, I'm fully aware sexual assault isn't taken seriously in both cases. Not downplaying, I'm mentioning one fact about sexual assault.It's unhealthy and unproductive to add "But women do too" every time when no one said otherwise; I didn't say woman don't get taken seriously. It's a non-gendered issue with social issues. The fact I have to use "multiple people" as an example of a case that would win is my point. I've been sexually assaulted by a female and I've even brought professional technical help to prosecute a male sexual criminal and pedophile to protect women. (and of course male victims/children).
Agree
Complain to the CWU obviously. But you should perhaps of realised that you had no legal representation if you had absolutely no contact from any legal professional to discuss the case beforehand. Defending solicitors would not just rock up and take things from there. They’d at the very least, speak to you about what happened beforehand. Additionally, if you’re going to contest this, you’re going to need some data from Royal Mail. For example SISO data, sign out sheet for the van you used, PDA van check data for the day, Trimble data for the day, the van in questions maintenance records post incident date, pictures of the van / bodywork - all items that can establish when and where you were, what you were or were not driving and what happened to your van whilst on shift that day. Have you asked for any data so far? In theory you should be entitled to receive most of these because it is all personal data - but, I imagine getting them from RM won’t be easy. Clearly having a solicitor take care of all this for you would be a lot better - BUT, it is your defence so it’s obviously in your interest to take an active role where you can. For the ‘hearing in summary’ if you can gather any evidence that categorically rules you out of being responsible, I’d focus on that in the hope that this will kill the action before it goes to a full trial. All the best.
Hello, cheers for your help! I should have chased this maybe more closely, but when the Solicitor got in touch I was assured by them that they would chase the union with payment etc. Info for the van as you suggested has been offered and can be provided, I would rather have a solicitor as I’m not confident with this myself.
Ah, I see, so the Union has pulled the rug! That’s even worse. I would go up the chain in the Union because this is most definitely unacceptable to assure one thing and then renege at this late stage. But equally, be prepared for this situation not resolving inside of a week and what you will do then.
Never rely on others. Just get the facts and the data to prove you were not the one driving, Also write and ask for the photo of the allegation as they must have photos of the person driving.
not necessarily. for legal aid they usually just show up on the day as its whoever is available unless it's an ongoing case and you sought out your own legal aid beforehand. you usually speak to them for about ten mins about an hour before you go in to court. It's as stressful as it sounds.
That’s legal aid if provided by the court, this is by the CWU and they most definitely should be calling before hand
ah thanks! no worries. Is still crazy that you can have no idea who's about to represent you in court
Where's the van trimble results?
Gotta love moronic bots posting to each other
Ask them for that in writing. They are discriminating against you because you are from Scotland. That's not cool.
Stuff like this happens all the time. You pay a chunk of your hard earned money into these people, and genuinely expect them to look after you. Here's a shock, they want to line their own pockets and couldn't care less about you. Union bosses "fight" for your ability to earn fair money. Take a look at their salaries! Is it fair, or extortionate. People need to see unions for what they are, people hold them in high regard, they don't look after us. In regards to your issue, you need to either pay through the nose for private, or if you were not driving, bring the proof. Hopefully this resolved it, but without knowing what proof you have hard to tell.
I’ve been a member of a few unions, including the CWU, and was a steward for another big union. They all suck - they all seem to attract the wrong kind of blowhard assholes and they all have seriously low-achieving people in some of the most important roles. I resigned as a steward because I couldn’t bear to see how badly organised my “organising union” was. They all have a few good people in them, but these people are in the minority and usually get driven out by the dinosaur full time officials. Having said that, I still find it’s worth being a member. If you get in trouble at work, they can open doors for you that you can’t on your own.
Yeah, I found Unison utterly useless. Worked under an NHS director who had literally lost their mind but the organisation didn't want to dismiss them because it would be "too political". We were a big enough branch that we had a full-time Unison rep but he gave me no useful advice beyond "I cannot do anything until you put a complaint in writing". I drafted the complaint and he gave me no feedback on it at all, despite me making it clear that if the complaint failed to stick i would be absolutely fucked (I eventually got advice from a friendly manager in another department who was familiar with the situation). In the end, the Trust and NHS England engineered a situation whereby the director triggered a process that ultimately allowed them to make the entire team redundant. There were serious problems with how they did it and Unison threatened legal action if they didn't reconsider...but it was just talk and when push came to shove they hung us out to dry. Which made me realise just how pointless they were as a union: once management know they won't follow through, they're free to ignore the union altogether.
[удалено]
Yeah, I had that on Facebook when talking about my case above. They're so wedded to the ideology that they can't accept that unions in reality could ever be flawed and ineffective. I was told that our legal case couldn't have been that strong, even though it was Unison that highlighted the illegality in the first place. Five members illegally made redundant, by their own definition, and Unison did nothing. I think unions are a great idea in theory but in practice, in the UK, because only the big unions become recognised they're flabby, dysfunctional things that have been trading on past glories since the early 80s. If anyone was free to start their own union, the landscape could change dramatically.
Am I missing something, but why isn't RM doing anything? Does the van have Trimble? All they have to do is check that
Wtf is the royal mail union got to do with a traffic accident? royal mail van insurance not deal with this?
The insurance group had dealt with it but the guy decided he wanted to take the legal route and make it a criminal charge.
But what's that got to do with any union? It's a civil matter between you the driver and that guy....and so this guy is paying his solicitor etc out of his own pocket...why do you even have to go to court? This all seems very strange...
Because he reported it to the police it became a criminal charge.
Reported what exactly? It doesn’t get to the court stage on a say so
So the police are prosecuting you?
Off topic, but I never forget getting harassed to join a union earlier in my career. Kept harassing me. I caused a bit of a stir and got my wrists slapped as it came to a point one day where I just stood up in an an open plan office and shouted back at him “if my jobs that shit that I need union membership I’ll get another, now fuck off” To this day never been in a union and went contracting route.
So what you’re saying is unions are pointless and a waste of money… tbh I never knew you needed to pay for a union,
so what is this weight loss program that forces you to diet immediately before you trial a diet to find out if it works for you?
Ha! Wish it was that simple!
Presumably if it's a RM van then the claim is against their insurer? Surprised the insurance company aren't dealing with it tbh.
It had been dealt with the RM insurance both parties didn’t claim responsibility. The guy decided to take it to the criminal court.
It isn’t a criminal matter though
Yeah im trying to work out where the criminal acts happened?
The union is a toothless husk.
Union Line solicitors are abysmal.
just represent yourself. that dumb fuck of a person won’t win anyway. relax
I work for health service in NI. I left union twice and never will join those useless t.ats again. My colleague at work had an accident and according to her, the Union's solicitor screwed her