Why I Joined the ITPA

Robert Dimmick:

I've worked for ICL for almost 30 years. Ever since I started work I have been a member of the ITPA or its predecessor unions. Sometimes I have played a leading part, sometimes I have been totally inactive.

Like most people, managers in business are a mixed bunch. Mostly they are decent people who will try to treat their staff properly, if it's not too much bother. A few imagine that they will succeed in their careers by exploiting and fooling their colleagues and subordinates, paying as little as possible for as much work as possible, and squeezing out anybody who "doesn't fit" by fair means or foul.

And they work in a competitive environment. From the top, it's easy to see staff as a cost - if you can cut that cost, you make more profit. It's harder to see staff as a valuable resource to be encouraged, trained and rewarded. Very often talk of "valuing people" stops one or two levels down the hierarchy.

I'm in ITPA because I believe in a different approach. The loyalty, commitment and experience of staff is of enormous value to a company - even when their current skills have become less useful. Companies are living organisms that need to recruit new staff, and develop their loyalty, commitment and experience too. To do that, every employee must have rights - to be treated fairly, to receive good pay and a proper reward for skill and achievement, to have her or his say, to receive respect for her or his individuality and personal life.

Companies won't give these rights unprompted. They never have, and they won't start now. And no one worker can achieve them alone. Often, we do enjoy fair treatment, good pay, and respect - but never as a right, only by good fortune.

The only answer is for employees to join together and demand these rights collectively. ITPA is the way we can do this. It has resources of knowledge and organisational skill. It can give advice and help to people who are treated badly. It can help groups to secure fairer treatment.

Since 1995, I have been chairman of the employee representatives on ICL's European Consultative Forum. That body did not come into existence by chance - it was the result of long struggles by unions throughout Europe. It has helped to make employees' views known to top management, and to give employees more information. ITPA's excellent backup and international links have enabled me to take an effective leading part.

The greatest obstacle to the success of unions, particularly in the ICT industry, is that we still have too few members, and too many employers don't think they need to work with us. You can help to change that today. Join now!

Rita Leech:

I am privileged to work in a career which is stimulating, congenial and well paid, among people who are, on the whole, stimulating, congenial and well paid. I can choose where, when and how I work, avoiding areas and companies in IT that I find uncongenial. Why on earth am I in a Trade Union?

I take a pride in the work I deliver but my expertise and effort are often frustrated by users far removed from the realities of system development and implementation. It can be an intimidating experience to face a senior manager and tell him that applying "negative plussage" to a nationally agreed basic rate to take advantage of local (high unemployment) conditions is probably illegal. Introducing negative numbers to fields in twenty year old legacy systems that have hitherto been processed as positive is asking for trouble. It is comforting to know that if push comes to shove in matters of professional integrity, there is a powerful legal back-up to fight your corner.

The value to me of the ITPA is that it provides a forum where issues of practice and working conditions can be discussed. This allows the Union to prioritise initiatives and concentrate resources where they are most effective. Issues of pay, hours, leave, pensions and health and safety can then be pursued at national level, and best practice broadcast and standardised.

IT these days covers the whole range of economic activity but often are small departments in large enterprises with little influence at branch level. In national campaigns for better working conditions in particular sectors or companies, the ITPA can add its voice on behalf of IT workers. We can also make a contribution to these activities by pointing out where IT systems can be of use to the workforce and where it is being used to its disadvantage As a contractor, a good working environment helps me to do a better job with less stress and more satisfaction.

By being a member of the Union I contribute to the improvement of working conditions generally and as a member of the ITPA I make sure that the specific concerns of IT professionals are made known. I benefit from the improvements and at the same time help to form them.

Alan Bell:

Hi my name is Alan Bell and I work for Origin UK. I have been a member of Amicus (formally MSF) for over 15 years and part of the ITPA since its inception.

I used to work for ICI in their in house software section but I along with some 300-400 colleagues were "outsourced" in February 1996.

Although Amicus was recognised by ICI and indeed negotiated for the annual salary increase with the company on a regular basis, the company did its level best to keep employees in the dark over our future. I asked the local full time Regional Officer to approach the company when it became apparent that they didn't want to discuss anything with their staff !!

Amicus' Officer drew ICI's attention to the fact that under TUPE they had to get involved in discussions with Amicus. After this much more information became available until at one point our Amicus officer threatened to take legal action and issue an injunction to stop the outsourcing going ahead because ICI were not divulging the required information. Within days we had written confirmation of answers to over 50 outstanding questions about our future !!

We have been very much more secure after the outsourcing due to Amicus' initial involvement. Because there are other unions involved with Origin we still do not have an official recognition document but Origin have always been involved with Amicus because we had recognition that transferred with us and Amicus have informed Origin that we will take speedy legal action if they threaten to issue any form of de-recognition. We are currently involved with Origin and the other unions to develop a multi-union recognition agreement and we are almost at the point of signing this.

None of this would have been possible without the initial and continuing support of Amicus and the ITPA section.

I have become more involved with the ITPA in the last two years and in 1998 attended the Euro-UNI Conference as an Amicus delegate. This was a very useful event as I learned about the work of other European unions and had the opportunity to meet with other Origin colleagues and learn of their work in areas such as their European Workers Councils. This is an area that Amicus and the ITPA will be concentrating on once we have official recognition !! I am also currently receiving a great deal of assistance from the ITPA with future recruitment and trying to trace all of the Amicus members split up through out the many sites that Origin have.

I feel that Amicus and the ITPA have a great future within Origin and because of their involvement our members have a more secure future also.