UNISON - NHS Professional Organisations Branch
Giving a voice to the branch
The Basics
Sticking to the basics
It is not the website’s intention to present a massive raft of information on trade union history or current health campaigns as all of this is readily available on the TUC and UNISON websites. Our aim is to provide branch members with core terminology and key information about how the union functions at the workplace level.
What do you mean by terms like branch and steward?
Branch: While the union actively campaigns and provides key resources at a national and regional level, most people will only deal directly with the union at the workplace or branch level. The branch is composed of all UNISON members within a defined patch (organisation or group of organisations). Your branch brings you together with other employees who face common issues in the workplace. Branches enable you to get support from the union, work with your colleagues and make your views felt in UNISON. Workplace representatives are the core of the branch and, without them, there would be no union to support you at work and negotiate for a better deal.
Branch officers: The branch holds regular meetings and is run by a committee consisting of members elected to take on different roles. The committee are referred to as branch officers and are elected by the members each year at the branch annual general meeting (AGM). Within the committee, key roles include those of Chair, Branch Secretary and Treasurer - see the 'Running the branch' tab for more details.
Representatives: Representatives are members that are elected by their UNISON colleagues to act as a local contact on UNISON matters. There are four types of representative within UNISON:
- Steward: who organises, recruits and represents members
- Health & Safety representative: who raises issues which affect the health and safety of members
- Union Learning representative: who is an enthusiast and advocate for learning in their own workplace
- Workplace contact: who distributes information or supports a steward
Remember: all representatives are volunteers and continue to pay their subscriptions like all other members. Any member can put her/himself forward as a representative and the branch would always welcome a member who wished to find out a little more about representation. Once elected, stewards are given the opportunity (and time off) for all appropriate training.
Becoming a member of this UNISON branch
If you would like to join UNISON, please approach one of the stewards listed on your organisation page of this website or contact us through the website for more information.
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- This page was last updated: 20 February 2011
