Union Rep

[infidel]

then why is the bad? union rep elected in the first place,must be the staff who put him/her in in the first place,also a
lot of the problems are member related,so if hes that bad bump him.

[norbert]

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.

the other trick is neutralize them by promotion , they have to make more of a effort once they've crossed that line . Kindest thing you can say about some of them is at least they know the job .

[lekker]

then why is the bad? union rep elected in the first place,must be the staff who put him/her in in the first place,also a
lot of the problems are member related,so if hes that bad bump him.

well said infidel. I know from experience that a rep can't be all things to all people but if the rep is not doing the job he is elected to do then I cannot understand why the office doesn't do something about it. just moaning about it and threatening to leave the union is the easy way out but it doesn't alter a damn thing. trouble is it is very easy to criticise from the sidelines but a lot harder to actually do the job, it takes time,effort and commitment to do a half-decent job and a lot of people just can't be bothered.

[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.

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 ?

If you read my post, this guy is a rep at my friend's office, lekker, not mine.

The guy was elected unopposed and was good at his job initially, but as time went on, got far too 'pally' with management and spent less and less time doing his job. If anyone were to stand against him now, she says, the mistrust created by his actions mean everyone would just assume the rival candidate has seen what a cushy number it is and is only motivated not by a desire to help others, but to help themselves.

People at grass roots DO have fight in them. But the legacy of the PEC clawing defeat from the jaws of victory back in 2007 is the true source of all these strikes in 2009, and many members are cynical as a result of what's happened these last two years. If this interim agreement is reneged on by RM, it will be nigh-on impossible to conclude anything other than we are lions being led by donkeys

[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 ?

If you read my post, this guy is a rep at my friend's office, lekker, not mine.

The guy was elected unopposed and was good at his job initially, but as time went on, got far too 'pally' with management and spent less and less time doing his job. If anyone were to stand against him now, she says, the mistrust created by his actions mean everyone would just assume the rival candidate has seen what a cushy number it is and is only motivated not by a desire to help others, but to help themselves.


People at grass roots DO have fight in them. But the legacy of the PEC clawing defeat from the jaws of victory back in 2007 is the true source of all these strikes in 2009, and many members are cynical as a result of what's happened these last two years. If this interim agreement is reneged on by RM, it will be nigh-on impossible to conclude anything other than we are lions being led by donkeys

The reply was meant to be generic and not particularly aimed at any office. i apologise if my post was ambiguous. it is always a problem that other people see the union job is cushy and it doesn't help if the rep isn't doing the job. My facility time means I don't do the IPS and at first a lot of the blokes moaned that I was "getting away with it". mind you many times i was the last one out of the door after dealing with the 100 and one things that crop up, attendance, conduct and sorting out leave and staffing. Also there are the hours outside work time. however i'm not bad at the job and now they accept it.

As for relationships with managers, this is always a tricky one because you interface with them more than most and you need to establish a working relationship and this can easily be misinterpreted as "selling out". If the relationship is advantageous to the membership then I don't see that as a problem.If you are on reasonably friendly terms it is much easier to "nip things in the bud" rather than resort to the formal procedures.

my gripe is that many people will moan from the sidelines, do nothing about the rep ,then leave the union. Which to me is pretty pointless. As your friend is concerned about the situation she sounds an ideal candidate to take the job. OK she will be thrown in at the deep end but we all started there. Support should be available from the branch and if you don't know the answer phone them up and ask.

As for the deal only time will tell if it is worth the paper it is written on and if RM will honour it. but apathy and despondency will play right into their hands and i would rather work in the job with a union rather than let the managers run riot as we know they will.

sorry to be so long-winded

[headscrewedon]

sorry to be so long-winded

No, fair points, lekker, and well argued