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My experience of unions is rather mixed.
True story:
Mum went into nursing in her mid-30s. She went through nursing college and was about a month away from her final exams when she was posted to a 'medium dependency' recovery ward. Whilst there she was instructed by the ward Sister to help a patient out of her bed. Mum asked for help in lifting the patient, who was very overweight and required a lot of lifting. The Sister told her she didn't need a second person for lifting, as the patient was not high dependency and theregfore should be able to do some of the moving herself, with some assistance.
Unfortunately, as became clear later on, this woman was only on the medium dependency recovery ward because the high dependency ward was full. The woman needed full on lifting. Mum tried asking the sister a second time for assistance and was basically told she was making a big deal out of nothing, stop making a fuss and go do her job.
In trying to lift the patient, mum injured her back very badly. She spent several moths in hospital, and a good deal of that in traction. She has suffered back pains ever since and for a long time her movement was restricted.
She was unable to complete her nursing training, and for many years was only able to manage part-time work. Though she continued to work in a hospital setting (as a phlebotomist) her nursing career was over and her earnings never amounted to what they would have had she been able to pursue the career she loved and had worked damned hard to enter.
She was advised by her union that she should try for compensation. Since the accident was to a large extent a result of mismanagement on the part of her immediate superior, she had a strong case. She could not have afforded the legal fees involved in taking such action without the union's assistance. They provided the solicitor.
Unfortunately, her case dragged on for years. Every so often a new solicitor wuold be put on her case and it would all start up again. The hospital conveniently mislaid records and reassigned the Sister. Each time the case moved forward the hospital would insist on further medicals to try and show that she was no longer suffering. Each set of medicals would show that she had permamently damaged her back.
The union mismanaged her case. It took 13 years before it was finally heard. he hospital engaged in underhand tactics. We are fairly sure that those of her colleagues who'd been nearby and overheard the Sister had been persuaded not to talk.
Eventually she was awarded £27,000 compensation, for her lost career after 13 years.
Now, on the one hand, i see here a failing of the union. It shouldn't have taken 13 years. They shouldn't have kept pushing her from one solicitor to another. They shouldn't have been so lax.
On the other hand, Mum would never have had any compensation had there been no union solicitor working on her behalf.
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