AGM positions - Branch Secretary

This is a brief description of what the Branch Secretary is expected to do.

The position and the role of the Branch Secretary is defined and the major duties are described in the national rule book.

Every recognised Unison Branch is required to elect a Branch Secretary every year at the AGM.

The Lambeth Unison Branch Secretary is responsible for members employed by Lambeth Council, Ofsted, Lambeth college, Capita (Lambeth and Bromley) Lambeth Leisure Services, Lambeth Living and a number of members employed by smaler private contractors and disperseed throughout London such as the Clapham Parks project etc. There are currently 2,300 members in Lambeth Unison, 1,800 of them work directly for Lambeth Council.

The Branch Secretary is accountable to the monthly Branch Committee, Branch meetings and ultimately the AGM.

The Branch Secretary must coordinate the work and activities of Directorate Convenors and work with them to achieve Branch and national aims and objectives. The Secretary needs to ensure that the Branch remains within national rules and current legislation when there are Industrial Disputes and must ensure legal compliance (in conjunction with the Region) ensuring that the Branch does not expose itself to legal challenges.

The Branch Secretary also works and supports the work of other Branch Officers.

The Branch Secretary advices on matters to do with employment rights, leads on negotiations and discussions where and when there are reorganisations. The Branch Secretary has a number of specific duties which require her/him to liaise with the Regional and the Regional Organiser.

The Branch Secretary works with Shop Stewards, Officers and elected reps from the Self Organised Groups to achieve aims and objectives agreed in the Branch Development Plan. Recruitment initiatives is another major role for the Secretary.

Any Lambeth Unison member can stand for election for this position and members do not have to be Shop Stewards.

Any questions on this please contact Nick on NVenedi@Lambeth.gov.uk

Nick Venedi

Positions for the AGM - Shop Stewards

I will attempt to explain what it is that an activist wishing to get more involved has to do and will start with a brief job description of what a Shop Steward is expected to do.

A Shop Steward serves and acts as the first point of contact in a given Shop. Lambeth Unison has a number of Shops these are spread over the 4 main Directorates and Lambeth Living areas. Other parts of Lambeth Unison, that come under other employers, such as Ofsted and Lambeth college, have their own Shop Stewards. structures

The Convenor of each distinct area (chief Steward) is responsible for coordinating the work of the Stewards and Steward committees that should take place locally on a frequent basis.

The Shop Steward is elected annually and serves for a period of one year in line with other Officers. All nominations are confirmed at the annual AGM. She or he will represent members and their interests in the specific shop and will deal with disciplinary and other work related matters. The Shop Steward will work with the local Convenor and focus on branch wide aims and objectives. Shop Stewards are expected to attend the monthly Branch committee which takes place every 3rd Tuesday of each month (usually) The Shop Steward will attend training to receive accreditation and can be involved with negotiating during reorganisation periods.

The Branch acknowledges the immense contribution Shop Stewards have to make and will encourage every member activist to get involved. Job share arrangements are also encouraged.

For any questions contact Nick Venedi on NVenedi@Lambeth.gov.uk

Nick Venedi

Nomination forms for AGM positions

All nomination forms relating to Branch Officer positions were emailed out to all Shop Stewards and activists today. The forms will also be posted out by Friday this week and will go to all contacts. The closing date for receipt of completed nomination forms is Monday 14 December 2009. Five forms in total went out. Members of Lambeth Unison are invited to consider standing for the following positions:

Shop Steward in their own area and own shop
A number of Branch Officer positions
Local Government Conference delegate
National Conference Delegate
Regional Council Delegate

Copies of these forms can be obtained from your local Shop Steward or Convenor. Alternatively you can email one of the following for more information;

NVenedi@Lambeth.gov.uk
JRogers@Lambeth.gov.uk
JABlake@Lambeth.gov.uk

Nick Venedi

All Lambeth Unison members are encouraged to consider standing for any of these positions.

November Branch committee meeting

A decision has been made to change the date of the next Branch committee meeting which was scheduled to take place on the 17th of November to Tuesday 24th November. This is because the 17th of November clashes with the Regional committee.

The deadline for submitting reports and motions to the November meeting is therefore Thursday 19th November 2009.

Nick Venedi

Postal Workers Dispute

Agreement reached on postal dispute

The TUC has helped broker an agreement to end the current postal dispute. The settlement provides for 'a period of calm' in the run up to Christmas that will allow further discussions about Royal Mail modernisation to take place between management and the CWU.
The preceding two weeks had seen the TUC facilitating lengthy discussions between both sides to try to resolve the 'difficult and complex' dispute, with TUC general secretary Brendan Barber chairing talks at Congress House.
The TUC had previously assisted both parties to reach the 2007 Pay and Modernisation Agreement.
Read TUC statement on agreement @
http://www.tuc.org.uk/organisation/tuc-17206-f0.cfm
Read TUC statements on the dispute @
http://www.tuc.org.uk/organisation/tuc-17175-f0.cfm
http://www.tuc.org.uk/newsroom/tuc-17169-f0.cfm
http://www.tuc.org.uk/newsroom/tuc-17157-f0.cfm
http://www.tuc.org.uk/organisation/tuc-17153-f0.cfm
General Council statement of support for CWU @
http://www.tuc.org.uk/organisation/tuc-17139-f0.cfm

Nick Venedi

Branch Committee Meetings in 2009

The next Branch committee meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 17 November. The deadline for motions and reports is Thursday 12 November.

The December Branch committee will take place on Tuesday 15 December.

Nick Venedi

Lambeth Branch response on the UNISON political fund review

1. The following are the comments from the Lambeth local government branch in response to the consultation questions in the document on the review of UNISON’s political funds, as agreed by our Branch Committee on 3 November 2009.

– what are the most important political and policy making processes affecting UNISON and its members?

– how will political, constitutional and policy changes impact on the union’s objectives and interests over the next five years?

– in what ways should branches, regions and the national union change their methods of campaigning and political organisation to meet these challenges?

2. The election of the UK Government, local authorities and devolved administrations are vitally important to UNISON members. The failure of New Labour and the likely election of a Conservative Government will presage serious attacks upon our members. At the same time the Labour Party is failing to adopt policies which reflect our members’ interests. The Union therefore needs to adopt a more independent approach politically.

– why do many branches not see the GPF and/or Labour Link as resources to help them lobby and campaign?

– how can we increase regional and branch engagement with the General Political Fund?

– how can we further strengthen regional and local Labour Link organisation?

3. The Union makes it unnecessarily difficult for branches to access political fund resources – branches should have an automatic entitlement to some political fund resources each year. Members will not engage with UNISON Labour Link whilst they see the Labour Party pursuing policies which attack the interests of our members.

– what resources and support do UNISON reps need to engage members and organise them to take political action?

– what kind of political education should be included in core training for stewards and organising staff?

– should we develop short courses for lead activists and organising staff on labour movement history and contemporary political issues?

4. UNISON needs to change its culture to one that encourages campaigning away from a “top down” officer-led culture which seeks to restrict campaigning by branches. The history of the trade union movement should be central to trade union education.

– what do members, branches, and lead activists need or want to know about the union’s political work, and how would this best be communicated to them?

– how could union communications better promote transparency and understanding of the operations of the General Political Fund and

Labour Link?

– how could union communications better encourage engagement and participation by members and branches in the union’s political work?

5. The Union should implement Conference policy and monitor and report on the voting record of politicians associated with our Union. Members need to know whether the politicians who benefit by their association with our Union support our policies. Members in local branches should have a direct input into decisions about which politicians UNISON supports and works with.

– is there more we need to do to ensure that subscription and allocation procedures are transparent?

– is there more we can do to encourage the greatest possible participation in the two sections of the political fund?

6. Members should not be allocated into the Affiliated Political Fund unless they make a deliberate choice to pay into the Labour Party. Branches should have direct control over some of the General Political Fund which should be available to be spent in accordance with the decisions of quorate Branch or Branch Committee meetings. The Union has to face up to the fact that if the proportion of members choosing to pay into the Affiliated Fund falls much below the present proportion (one third) it will no longer be tenable to maintain that UNISON is affiliated to the Labour Party.

– are existing structures for the governance of the General Political Fund adequate to ensure transparency, accountability and engagement?

– how can we encourage a higher level of participation in Labour Link structures at branch, regional and national level?

– are there ways in which we can improve the accountability and responsiveness of both Labour Link and the GPF to wider union

structures at local, regional, devolved and national levels?

7. There should be a single-section political fund under the control of National Delegate Conference and the separate structures for each section of the fund should be abolished. The existing structures were designed, prior to vesting day in 1993, specifically to avoid transparency, accountability and engagement and cannot be reformed.