reps job

shimmyrule · Post by **shimmyrule** » 27 Jul 2011, 09:49

How long must you be a cwu member afore you can become a rep

motherhubbard · Post by **motherhubbard** » 27 Jul 2011, 10:02

I don't think there is a qualifying period.
If your members want to vote for you, that should be good enough.

belle smith · Post by **belle smith** » 27 Jul 2011, 15:36

No time limit as far as i'm aware, is there a newby at you office plannig to take it on?
I don't personally think it's a job for a newby.

clashcityrocker · Post by **clashcityrocker** » 27 Jul 2011, 15:54

belle smith wrote:No time limit as far as i'm aware, is there a newby at you office plannig to take it on?
I don't personally think it's a job for a newby.

That would depend on what trade union experience they could bring to the job from previous employment.

belle smith · Post by **belle smith** » 27 Jul 2011, 16:18

clashcityrocker wrote:
belle smith wrote:No time limit as far as i'm aware, is there a newby at you office plannig to take it on?
I don't personally think it's a job for a newby.
That would depend on what trade union experience they could bring to the job from previous employment.

No doubt that would help, but they wouldn't know any of the agreements between RM and the CUW.
They wouldn't know anyone in the office either. I personally think both matter.

clashcityrocker · Post by **clashcityrocker** » 27 Jul 2011, 16:31

belle smith wrote: No doubt that would help, but they wouldn't know any of the agreements between RM and the CUW.
They wouldn't know anyone in the office either. I personally think both matter.

The Way Forward is still one of the most important agreements in place along with Pay and Mod.
I wonder how many reps were employed by RM when these were agreed.
Any new rep has a lot of reading to do and a good Branch would arrange training on Postal Procedures.
You are assuming they wouldn't know anyone in the office. They might live in a tight knit community where everyone knows everyone. (I'm not sure if any actually survived the onslaught known as Thatcherism)

I don't disagree that it would be a difficult job for a newby but if they have the enthusiasm and the drive to be a good rep, then inexperience shouldn't be a bar to them being the rep. They could always have an older hand as sub rep - then they would have the perfect mix of enthusiasm and experience.

happy · Post by **happy** » 27 Jul 2011, 16:46

we should encourage anyone that wants to do it now as so many people do not want to do this job.
hope you go for it its not easy but sometimes it is worth it have been the sub rep for 6 months it can be hard going.
may be that's what you should do if you can then you will get a feel of it and have someone to back you up it's working for me.good luck

wayoutman · Post by **wayoutman** » 27 Jul 2011, 16:49

you also have to take into consideration this is shimmys DO we are talking about.

in at the deep end anybody?

all the best with it mate

belle smith · Post by **belle smith** » 27 Jul 2011, 17:02

clashcityrocker wrote:
belle smith wrote: No doubt that would help, but they wouldn't know any of the agreements between RM and the CUW.
They wouldn't know anyone in the office either. I personally think both matter.
The Way Forward is still one of the most important agreements in place along with Pay and Mod.
I wonder how many reps were employed by RM when these were agreed.
Any new rep has a lot of reading to do and a good Branch would arrange training on Postal Procedures.
You are assuming they wouldn't know anyone in the office. They might live in a tight knit community where everyone knows everyone. (I'm not sure if any actually survived the onslaught known as Thatcherism)

I don't disagree that it would be a difficult job for a newby but if they have the enthusiasm and the drive to be a good rep, then inexperience shouldn't be a bar to them being the rep. They could always have an older hand as sub rep - then they would have the perfect mix of enthusiasm and experience.

Think we might have or wires crossed here Clash, I never said being a newby should be a bar to them becoming a rep.
it was always an opinion that i don't think it's a job for a newby.

I wasn't employed by RM at the time of The Way Foward, i know some aspects of the agreement but only by paying attention at meetings.
I did receive some training on pegasus many years ago when i was briefly a deputy rep. Don't remmember any new rep in our office ever receving broad training. Judgeing by who took local strike action in 2009 then we are from a very good branch.
I assume that new reps not receiving training is the norm, That may be wrong but i doubt it.
Also given that so many members in so many offices like to start early, work through breaks then run out the door I wouldn't go ecspecting any rep to get much help from the most of the other members.
I'm of the opinion that unit rep is one of the hardest job in the union, Somthing that has been made much worse by the 2007 & 2010 deals.

This may well all be irrelevent anyhow, i suppose it's just as likely maybe even more likely, that shimmy is asking in regards to a long term employee who is not currently a union member.

clashcityrocker · Post by **clashcityrocker** » 27 Jul 2011, 17:06

belle smith wrote: ....... shimmy is asking in regards to a long term employee who is not currently a union member.

I presume he is not asking for himself.
I think being a BNP organiser might be a bigger bar to being a CWU rep than length of union membership.
I've not got my fascist wires crossed have I?

belle smith · Post by **belle smith** » 27 Jul 2011, 17:32

clashcityrocker wrote:
belle smith wrote: ....... shimmy is asking in regards to a long term employee who is not currently a union member.
I presume he is not asking for himself.
I think being a BNP organiser might be a bigger bar to being a CWU rep than length of union membership.
I've not got my fascist wires crossed have I?

I don't presumme to talk for shimmy.
It might well be asking for himself, in which case being a BNP organiser? i'm sure that would and should be a bigger hurdle than length of union membership.
or maybe he's asking on behalf of someone else in his office.

I don't know Clash, feel free to ask him?

MinisterofCucumber · Post by **MinisterofCucumber** » 27 Jul 2011, 17:44

Being a rep is probably the greatest opportunity you will get to develop yourself within Royal Mail Group.

Anyone can do it but it helps if you have the active support of your office. Ideally you need a rep on each shift and a Union notetaker who can minute meetings and keep the archive. Unit reps can get paid release for residential courses, activists can apply to do online training in their own time.

The main thing is to organise your unit. There are too many offices in RMG where the only active member is the Unit rep. Members are too used to being passive and this is what management want. Management want our members to think that for £3 a week they get the service of a Union rep who should be able to get them what they want and the member doesn't have to do anything for or know anything about the Union. In this sort of set-up, members are kept in the dark and a weak or corrupt rep can do more damage to the image of trade unionism than having no rep at all. This is because management will be able to make the Union look like it is to blame for the worsening of members' terms and conditions.

Being in a union should be about coming together to help each other. A newcomer who has the guts to volunteer to be a rep should be supported by his/her workmates and they should all take advantage of Union training opportunities to develop as a group.

It is difficult to organise members who have been 'bought' by management. For example, in offices where there is no overtime aggregate list, some members can be given more than their fair share of overtime without others being aware of this. If we had a national agreement on overtime that enforced aggregate lists, organising would be a lot easier.

shimmyrule · Post by **shimmyrule** » 27 Jul 2011, 19:45

clashcityrocker wrote:
belle smith wrote: ....... shimmy is asking in regards to a long term employee who is not currently a union member.
I presume he is not asking for himself.
I think being a BNP organiser might be a bigger bar to being a CWU rep than length of union membership.
I've not got my fascist wires crossed have I?

unlucky.ex organiser, ex member, but still a voter and a donator, and probably has more fight for the members in my office than any other person there, including any Labour voting reps who in the past have "been bought" by previous management.............as someone here pointed out.

geefaetheeast · Post by **geefaetheeast** » 28 Jul 2011, 18:18

having a pop at who, someone votes for is way over the top in my opinion

,shimmy is a good union member,that i can personally vouch for

-------critism would be better directed at the union rep who resigned from one of his union posts but still hangs on to his other role within the cwu,despite emails to billy hayes /dave ward etc as to his conduct in my own personal case

....(im still awaitn what was decided after a so called investigation)
result so far for the rep involved in my case---a PLANNERS job

,and he is still enjoying his paid for jollies to conference.that we the union members pay for

.

ps, this ex rep has survived more that 3/4 of the office voting no confidence in him,and i doubt if he has been on a walk in over a year.

to me he sums up everything that is wrong within the royal mail and cwu,the man should never be allowed near another union as long as he is able to breathe.

rant over

Postman Plodd · Post by **Postman Plodd** » 28 Jul 2011, 23:25

MinisterofCucumber wrote:activists can apply to do online training in their own time.

How do i go about doing this training?

ROYALMAILCHAT

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