WO toolkit 2012 complete.pdf - GMB
WO toolkit 2012 complete.pdf - GMB
WO toolkit 2012 complete.pdf - GMB
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SECTION 1.3<br />
YOUR RIGHTS AS A <strong>GMB</strong> <strong>WO</strong>RKPLACE ORGANISER<br />
ADVISORY,CONCILIATION&ARBITRATION SERVICE(ACAS)CODES OF PRACTICE<br />
The ACAS codes provide a minimum of legal rights for <strong>GMB</strong> workplace organisers.Your recognition and<br />
facilities agreement with your employer should give you at least these rights but <strong>GMB</strong> aims for much<br />
more.<br />
TIME OFF AND THE FACILITIES TO CARRY OUT YOUR DUTIES<br />
To do your union work,you will need time and resources.The usual term for this is‘facilities’.Some<br />
workplaces have‘facilities agreements’as part of their <strong>GMB</strong> Recognition Agreement which provide for<br />
paid time off for union duties and use of equipment and facilities for union work.Ask your Branch<br />
Secretary or <strong>GMB</strong> Officer for details of your facilities agreement and decide whether you need to<br />
demand more facilities from your employer.<br />
FACILITIES<br />
Where <strong>GMB</strong> membership is strong enough,the union should have its own private office,equipped with<br />
telephone,desk,chair,filing cabinet,or personal computer and reasonable amounts of stationery.If<br />
this is not possible there should be an agreement covering the use of these things for union purposes.<br />
This should include the use of the postal arrangements,internal distribution system,e-mail system,<br />
personal computers and printers,fax machine and access to a photocopier.<br />
You should first ask for a noticeboard to display notices of meetings and other union publicity and time<br />
off and facilities to produce and distribute your workplace newsletter.<br />
TIME OFF FOR <strong>GMB</strong> DUTIES<br />
Time off arrangements make it possible for you to play your part in building workplace organisation.If<br />
your employer recognises <strong>GMB</strong> for collective bargaining you have legal rights to reasonable time off<br />
during working hours for trade union duties,including training,under section 168 and 169 of the Trade<br />
Union and Labour Relations Consolidation(TULRC)Act 1992.<br />
Paid time off should cover:<br />
• All meetings with the employer.<br />
• Meetings with new employees for recruitment purposes.<br />
• Meetings with other trade union representatives.<br />
• <strong>GMB</strong> training courses.<br />
• Attending industrial conferences and committee meetings away from your workplace.<br />
• Accompanying a worker to a grievance or disciplinary hearing.<br />
TIME OFF FOR TRAINING<br />
Section 178(2)of the TULRC act 1992 gives union representatives the right to reasonable time off work<br />
for training.Remember that you should ensure that your employer is given‘reasonable notice’when you<br />
want time off for training,if possible a minimum of six weeks.Some employers prefer to agree time off<br />
for training on a yearly basis.They can plan for release over twelve months far more easily.<br />
Good agreements on release are undermined when course places are cancelled without good reason or<br />
adequate notice.It’s important that you don’t cancel your place at the last moment,as this creates<br />
problems for the course organisers.Challenge your employer if they try to get you to cancel a course<br />
because of‘work pressures’.<br />
<strong>GMB</strong> Learning Representatives also have rights to time off work to undertake their role and undergo<br />
relevant training.Ask your <strong>GMB</strong> Officer for details.<br />
Safety Representatives also have rights to paid time off for carrying out their responsibilities and<br />
attending approved union training under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Act 1977.<br />
They have the right to paid time off to conduct safety inspections in the workplace.