From Tuesday 4th May, ballot papers began to appear through UNISON members’ letter boxes for the elections to the UNISON National Executive Council, the body which makes the decisions on how the Union is run at a national level.

These are very important elections and we would urge you to read the material that you will receive and to use your vote.

Note that you are entitled to vote in all the elections for seats listed on your ballot paper, regardless of seat type.

The ballot closes on the 27th May so you should aim to get your ballot paper in the post by the 24th May to ensure it arrives on time.

If you haven’t received your ballot paper by the 13th May, then you should contact the ballot helpline operated by UNISONdirect, on the following telephone number: 0800 0 857 857.

More information regarding the elections can be read here (https://www.unison.org.uk/about/our-organisation/lay-structure-democracy-and-elections/current-elections/national-executive-council-elections-2021/)

National Executive Council elections 2021 | Current elections | UNISON National On this page you can find out everything you need to know about the vote to elect UNISON’s new National Executive Council (NEC). The NEC is made up of representatives elected from all of UNISON’s regions and service groups, as well as seats for four Black members, two young members and two … www.unison.org.uk

SHU UNISON BRANCH NOMINATIONS:

SHU Branch nominated the following candidates who have a track record of leadership and fighting for members. They stand for transforming UNISON by:

Creating real change to win for members.

• Redirecting Union resources to branches, to better support you at work.
• Coordinating serious national action on pay and to defend pensions.
• Fighing employers’ ‘fire and re-hire’ tactics, worsening our terms & conditions
• A greater focus on Covid-19, to better support members’ safety.
• Fighting against the scourges of racism, and all forms of discrimination.
• Prioritising UNISON’s role in fighting the climate emergency

 Please use your vote!

At our AGM earlier this year, the following were elected to Branch Officer positions:

Dan J Bye – Branch Secretary

Tracey Holland – Branch Chair

Blodwen Grayhurst – Treasurer

Lucinda Wakefield – International Officer / Acting Health & Safety Officer

Anna Wiggins – Women’s Officer

Ana Yousaf – Equality Officer

But a number of Officer positions remain unfilled and are empty posts.  They are:

Vice Chair

Communication Officer

Membership Officer

Welfare Officer

Education Officer

Young Persons’ Officer

The more posts we can fill, the more the Branch can achieve, so we are keen to hear from members who are interested in taking up these opportunities.   They are a great way of developing your own skills and experience, as well as making a contribution to the union’s collective strength.   Each Officer role has a particular specialism, but Officers can also get involved in case work and negotiation more generally.

Remember, paid time off is allowed to carry out union duties, and training and support is available for the roles from UNISON and the Branch.

To find out more about the purpose of the roles, see:  https://www.unison.org.uk/about/our-organisation/activists/branch-roles/.

Between AGMs, the Branch Committee can co-opt any member who is eligible to most of the vacant posts. So if you are interested please get in touch with Dan Bye, Branch Secretary, or another Branch Officer, for a chat!

In the run up to Christmas 2020, the Students’ Union launched a consultation on proposals to restructure the organisation and cut staff numbers.  40% of Students’ Union staff were formally placed “at risk”.  The proposals could not have come at a worse time for our members, already feeling demoralised and facing an uncertain future in extremely tough times.

UNISON, with the assistance of UNISON regional staff, supported members to put forward alternative proposals, launched a petition and passed a vote of no confidence.   Newspaper coverage of the campaign was secured.  Following the work of members, Region, the Branch and SU stewards Demaine Boocock and (albeit briefly) Jemma Dalton, the consultation was extended and the implementation ended up being delayed until the end of April.  The redundancy offer, initially only the statutory minimum, was improved, pay protection was agreed and other concessions were made.  Some of our alternative suggestions were accepted by SU management, which helped protect jobs.

Although UNISON achieved a number of successes, lockdown made engaging with students much harder and it is disappointing that in the end the decision to close the Students Union bar and most other commercial activities was confirmed.  Five UNISON members were among those who already left have or will be leaving the SU.

UNISON has already met with SU members to discuss next steps.  We intend to hold SU management to account for the fallout from the restructure, and demand action to address the poor staff morale that was revealed by the belated release of the results of a staff survey conducted in 2019.  We are also drawing up a list of workplace issues we want to see addressed, and will be meeting with SU leadership to take this agenda forward.