How do I find a union?

I work in a call center (collections for T-mobile), the job is what can only be described as hell-ish, but on top of that the workers are bullying one another along with managers who are outright abusive to staff members with no way of making complaints or avoiding their abuse. We get unrealistic targets and in my case human resources are trying to fire me for being off with a life-threatening health problem - furthermore they had no record of this health problem or what to do if I took ill at work!

I am planning on finding another job, unfortunately stuck for a little while, but I know certain problems could be avoided in future work-places if I was a member of a union, I'm also wanting to find some way of reporting my current employers once I leave.

I'm not entirely sure if a union is going be a great solution, after all if there was a strong union within that workplace, some of these issues would already be sorted... In my experience the union is only as good as the local represention team. You have rights within the workplace and generally the union is there to assist and advise but again the quality of advice and assistance depends on who's giving it. It sounds as though the work practices within your workplace is poor and management have an obligation to address this, you could pursue matters higher and higher up the chain of command until you find someone who cares... But that's a hard road to travel.

To answer your question directly, you can join any union but it is best to find one which specialises in your type of industry. Look about your workplace. If you have union representation then there will be a board with information on it and the names of the reps. You may find information on the Communications Workers Union - www.cwu.org - as they should be the union represented. Visit their website for more information

A union would be of no use to you, if you were the only member at the work place. You need significant numbers to have enough muscle to force the company to act in your favour. There may be some failings in their working practises, that come under the jurisdiction of the Health And Safety Executive (see the web site below), that you could report them to. But if they knew that you had reported them, it may make the situation worse. If they sacked you unfairly, you may have a case for unfair dismissal.