and they are right not to rely on unions

I have helped 2 union members over the last couple of years and in both cases they would have been far better off with a good lawyer. The first was told by the union he had belonged to (at the same employer) for 35 years that they would not accompany him to his redundancy meetings as it wasn't necessary; he was initially offered statutory redundancy only by this large media owner. The other was being "supported" by his union in a race discrimination case but they failed to tell him about a hearing with a judge until 6pm the night before it and said they could not accompany him to it. In both cases I recommended a a good employment lawyer who reacted quickly and got a much more satisfactory outcome.