BY JODY WHITEHILL


So much focus has been on bad jobs and bad employers recently like Sports Direct, with their shameful warehouse working conditions and zero hours contracts that rob people of any quality family life.


But October 7 marked World day for decent work – and Unite was at the forefront of celebrating the many decent jobs that do exist.


“Unite is proud to be supporting world day for decent work this year,” said Steve Turner, Unite assistant general secretary.


“Often the focus is on all the bad employers and what is missing from their workers’ jobs, like guaranteed hours every week, training opportunities and good pay. We can forget to highlight the good jobs and how we can make all jobs into good jobs,” added Steve.


Unite’s Fightfor5 campaign is aimed at winning decent work for all. But what makes a job a decent job? I spoke to Paul Robinson, who works for Essar Oil UK, formerly Shell Oil, based in Ellesmere Port.


“The reality is that the main reason people come to work is to get paid. And the pay here is top of the table for the area,” he said.


But pay alone isn’t what makes the job great though as Paul, who has worked at the Ellesmere Port plant for 38 years, explained. “Retention here is very high because people are happy,” he said.


The employer is flexible with staff either on day worker contracts, which are 08.00 until 16.00 or shift worker contracts, which are two 12 hour days followed by two 12 hour nights and then six days off.


The pay for both types of contract is similar, with the shift workers getting an extra shift allowance.


“If you have a young family the shift work allows you to split childcare or the day contract means you’re there for dinner and bedtime,” said Paul.


Paul worked as a plant operator before becoming a full time convenor. He is now


responsible for Unite’s 600 members at the plant. “One of the best things about the plant is how safe it is,” he said.


“The company is also compassionate in the way it deals with sickness and family issues and that makes it a happy setting,” he added. When Essar Oil UK took over from Shell in 2011 they kept existing staff on a final salary pension and mirrored the scheme for new starters.


“They even use an Acas approved disciplinary process, which is incredibly fair. There are lots of training and development opportunities and access to career progression with Essar sponsoring employees to do degrees.


“And there’s a canteen that provides free meals. You can have a full cooked English breakfast every morning and a three course lunch cooked by a great chef,” he added.


Treated with respect Treating your workforce with respect and fairness also benefits the employer as Paul continued. “In 2012 we had two major fires, which caused significant damage to the plant,” he said.


“During the 2013 pay negotiations the staff agreed to a pay freeze so that money could be focused on making repairs and getting the plant back up and running,” he added.


The following year the plant saw record profits and staff were rewarded with a pay rise and a big bonus. “An employer just wouldn’t get that kind of loyalty from its workforce without the mutual respect,” said Paul.


Frank Wood, a senior biomedical scientist has worked in one of London’s Kings College hospital pathology labs for almost 30 years.


Four years ago the service was taken over by a private company, Viapath. Since then Unite convenor Frank has worked closely with the management to ensure it’s a good employer. One of the biggest pathology providers in the UK with 1,000 staff, about 200 of them are based at Kings College.


21 uniteWORKS Autumn 2016


“When we were taken over by Viapath our terms and conditions and our NHS pensions were transferred,” said Frank.


Unless you choose to do shift work the hours are very social, starting at 09.00 and finishing at 17.30. There are also flexible working arrangements in place should people need them.


“One colleague with an elderly parent works part-time to share carer res- ponsibilities,” said Frank. Parents are also able to start and finish later or earlier to do the school run or share child care responsibilities too.


Frank is clearly proud of what he does. “I enjoy it because there is a lot of variety, a good degree of job control and I can work well within the expectations of my employer. I work as part of a good but small team and have the opportunity to train people up.


“NHS pay has fallen back a bit and there are more competitive salaries out there – but it is a very rewarding career,” added Frank.


Sports Direct – the now infamous bad employer – is unfortunately just the tip of the iceberg and there are many more bad employers out there not treating their staff fairly.


“Trade unions will always be here to improve the lives of all workers – it’s why we also campaign for changes in the law to improve rights and remove the barriers to trade unions organising,” said Steve Turner.


Unite believes decent work is a human right and continues to campaign for better pay and terms and conditions for its members. “The best way to enforce your rights at work is to join a trade union.


“Essar Oil UK and Viapath should be proud of their record and how fulfilled their employees are. The government and businesses must go a lot further in working with trade unions to ensure that employers like these are customary, not employers like Sports Direct,” he added.


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