Help and advice

How the union works

Most people join a union because they want protection at work - help with pay and conditions of service, legal or health and safety advice or representation, in case things go wrong at work. That's what we're here for.

UNISON negotiates on pay and working conditions at every level - local, regional and national. But we also do a lot more. Being a UNISON member gives you a range of benefits and unbeatable deals.

Every member of UNISON belongs to a local branch which is made up of people working for the same employer.

Local stewards are there to represent you at work and help find the answers to your problems. They are volunteers and play a vital role in recruiting new members and organising your branch.

Decision making in UNISON -how your voice is heard

We are a very large union of over 1.3 million members but we try to ensure everyone's voice can be heard- particularly in major decisions. Members will be asked to vote in ballots of all those affected for example in whether or not to accept a pay offer.

Our principle is to be 'member led' in everything we do- at branch , regional or national level. It would be too slow and cumbersome to ballot on every decision so instead we elect committees to run the branches. They send representatives to Regional Committees who decide regional policy and in turn they elect representatives to national committees to take a national view. 

Once a year, all branches are invited to send delegates to our National Delegate conference which is the highest authority in the union.  Our policies and union UNISON Rules are agreed here. and reviewed every year. In between conferences, the union is governed by the National Executive Committee- which has representatives from every Region.

Branches also meet nationally at the different 'Service Group Conferences' eg Health Local Government , Police, Higher Education, Water and Environment, Energy, Community to decide the union's policy for members in these.

Self Organisation ( SOGs)

UNISON follows an important principle of 'self organisation' of those members who are affected by a particular issue in areas of equality. This ensures the members themselves drive the policy. We have Self Organised Groups ( SOGs) for

  • Women
  • Black and Minority Ethnic Members
  • Disabled Members
  • Lesbian Gay Bi- and Trans Members (LGBT)
  • Young Members
  • Retired Members

So if you are a UNISON member in one or more of these groups, you can attend their activities and volunteer to help run the groups. Your first starting point to get in touch can be your branch or by emailing us on unisoneastern@unison.co.uk

 

Not a member?

If you're not a member of a union, join one now! Union members get a better deal at work all round. To find out more go to Join UNISON?

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