Union Rep

[DemonPostie]

Our union rep is a bit rubbish.

He comes in an hour early every day, never spoke to ANYONE in the office about the strike, and doesn't bother organising a picket line.

Nobody in the office apart from me seems very interested in Union activities.

Would I be out of place to ask him to "step aside" and let me take over? I don't really WANT to, as I've been union rep before (years ago) and found it not very enjoyable. But if he really isn't interested....

What do you think? Can I oust him?

[Pat Ostman]

You can stand for election when his time is up I guess. Apart from that you'll need the support of the majority of the office now and ask him to stand down.

[clashcityrocker]

I completely sympathise as my situation is exactly the same.
Our rep was never elected and for ages he has been announcing that he is going to stand down.This week I have formally announced my intention (with a proposer and seconder) to stand as a candidate to force an election and surprise surprise he is going to contest it though I have been told "it won't be this year". On the plus side it has started some discussion about what the unit wants from their rep and maybe a third candidate will appear.
My advice to you would be to find out when his term is up and stand against him.Your unit is going to need a rep who cares about the issues even if ultimately it is a thankless task.

[lekker]

Local reps are elected for a period of one year then the position is open to election. It is the duty of the branch chairman to send out notices requesting nominations for union positions in the office ( usually the Rep and assistant rep. ) enclosing nomination forms and clearly stating the closing date for these nominations. If the standing reps are the only ones nominated then they are "elected unopposed". If there are other nominations then a ballot has to be held. Again this has to be prominently advertised in the office and a secret ballot held. Again this is the branch chairmans responsibility.

If there are sufficient members who are dissatisfied with the rep then a letter should be sent to the branch chairman who should investigate the complaints and decide the best course of action. An interim election maybe.

Reps, unlike dogs, are not for life

[infidel]

REPS TO BE ELECTED FOR END OF NOV 2009,go get these time wasters out now get them challenged.

all the best boys/girls.

[dongash]

one of the two reps at macclesfield is sound. the other is just a bone idle, he "preps " a walk for one of the 24 hour people, never finishes the prep, yet his own part-time walk has a frame full of mail by the time we have been on ips for two hours!!!!! oh and by the way he's a full time postman on a part-time walk. the boss just leaves him on it as he agrees with all the boss puts to him anyway!!!! he pays one of the runaround merchants to do his lapsing for him, comes in early, and you wouldn't believe he knew what diversity was!!!! i think he (along with the actions of the leadership of the union) are the reasons why there is going to be a membership exodus at our office come the new year.

[headscrewedon]

A rep at an office my friend works in has a night shift duty, but has been 'temporarily' on earlies for several years. He is outside with a coffee or a fag almost as much as the managers, and is right in their pockets. Worse still, he has now picked up an S/A that should rightly go to an early shift person. How can someone sign for an S/A attached to an early duty when their proper duty is on nights and the S/A actually overlaps his proper shift ????

What with this guy's sweetheart deals and the recent sell-out, I can't see anything other than loads of people leaving the union there, either.

[lekker]

A rep at an office my friend works in has a night shift duty, but has been 'temporarily' on earlies for several years. He is outside with a coffee or a fag almost as much as the managers, and is right in their pockets. Worse still, he has now picked up an S/A that should rightly go to an early shift person. How can someone sign for an S/A attached to an early duty when their proper duty is on nights and the S/A actually overlaps his proper shift ????

What with this guy's sweetheart deals and the recent sell-out, I can't see anything other than loads of people leaving the union there, either.

am I missing something here? my rep is crap so I leave the union ! I don't get it - stop moaning and stand up and be counted. As i've said before YOU elect a rep - not the bloody managers. Get off your arses and do something about it or is the easy option just walking away? Don't you have any fight in you ffs ?

[Lincox]

Well said Lekker. See what jobs these reps get once they have been ousted.

[bogstandard]

As a CWU member i/we have a responsibility to act in the interests of the CWU.
this resposibility does NOT include the quote "its the reps job" it is all our job.
If you dont like it, put up.
if an option is to pull out of the union, then this says a few things to me. That individuals don't believe they could do a better job nor do they believe could anyone else in thier office, the threat of pulling out, might get them the desired effect of someone who is already a volunteer(i.e. their rep), volunteering more of their spare time to achieve standards individuals expects but are unwilling to volunteer themselves.

IF we are asked to take I.A. we are taking a day of action and NOT having a day off.
People only want to hear what they want to hear, if as a rep (and volunteer) you tell them otherwise you're useless. Their conclusion has nothing to do with the fact that you have listened to their problem, viewed it with impartiality and expressed an opinio, that no, you're not entitled to special leave A for your dogs birthday, FFS

[norbert]

A rep at an office my friend works in has a night shift duty, but has been 'temporarily' on earlies for several years. He is outside with a coffee or a fag almost as much as the managers, and is right in their pockets. Worse still, he has now picked up an S/A that should rightly go to an early shift person. How can someone sign for an S/A attached to an early duty when their proper duty is on nights and the S/A actually overlaps his proper shift ????

What with this guy's sweetheart deals and the recent sell-out, I can't see anything other than loads of people leaving the union there, either.

am I missing something here? my rep is crap so I leave the union ! I don't get it - stop moaning and stand up and be counted. As i've said before YOU elect a rep - not the bloody managers. Get off your arses and do something about it or is the easy option just walking away? Don't you have any fight in you ffs ?

You'll get bad reps just like you'll get bad managers and RM would love it if everybody resigned . The plants on Postman Fluffy were parroting off the Union has no credibility line after 2007 .

I've seen some shocking reps , the alkies , the lazy ones that couldn't do the job , the ones stuck in the 50's that made themselves fireproof , ones doing it for insurance , schoolmates of the manager etc , etc - everybody knows one - but I've always backed the union at higher levels up the food chain and on strikes .

[BelfastPostie]

Sadly, this is the case in our delivery office where one rep and the branch chairman have no balls at all standing up to RM throwin their weight about. There even havin clandestine meetings with managers about keepin their duties as work-free as possible and settin up the the other reps (who r standin up for the members) for dismissal

[norbert]

Sadly, this is the case in our delivery office where one rep and the branch chairman have no balls at all standing up to RM throwin their weight about. There even havin clandestine meetings with managers about keepin their duties as work-free as possible and settin up the the other reps (who r standin up for the members) for dismissal

I'd problems with one who went to school with the Performance Manager elsewhere . He soon piped down when I reported him to higher authority . Just played these people at their own game .

I know one guy who swore when he left he'd set the alkie rep for dismissal , there would be no sympathy . The alkie rep was put on a final warning anyway , there was so much pressure to cut from on high , not even the managers could afford these cosy arrangements and passengers . It just took time .

Many of those managers & their lackies got culled later anyway . We later got some " better " Senior Managers but I'm afraid I can't see this happening with RM .

The union area organizer got the final warning rescinded ( I think that was on a technicality and it wouldn't quite stand up in a IT ) but he read the alkie rep the riot act and that rep was later told to jump before he was pushed on another issue ( heart attack at work ) .

He was back in the pub straight after being discharged from Hospital - there was no sympathy for him whatsoever , been on IB ever since .

Union politics is often more vicious .

[infidel]

lincox do explain the job they get when ousted?

[Lincox]

My point is that once a bad union rep has been voted out in favour of someone else, just watch to see whether the managers that they did have a cosy relationship with, still give them the cushy jobs in that depot. I think not. These managers will then start to try and make an impression with the new incumbent, in order to impose their will. How do they do it. By offering cushy jobs and so the cycle goes round until someone with a bit more fibre and moral belief takes up the role. Once they realise that they cannot tame this animal, their effort is then put into destabilising it and making allegations of bullying and harrassment in order to attempt dismissal. This is not a new phenomenon, but a well rehearsed management tool, not just in Royal Mail but in many companies where Unions are established.