WO toolkit 2012 complete.pdf - GMB

SECTION 3.2
COLLECTIVE GRIEVANCES
Part of your role is to take up problems at work that groups of your members,or possibly the entire
membership have that are not connected with the collective bargaining process.Such problems should
be dealt with through the same grievance procedure that you would use in individual cases.You should
tackle them in the same methodical way that you would when preparing an individual case and always
follow every step of the procedure.
MAKE YOUR COMPLAINT YOUR MANAGEMENT’S PROBLEM
Submit a collective grievance letter in the same way as for an individual member and demand a
meeting.Remember a collective grievance is the best way to make sure your complaint becomes your
employers problem and not just a GMB members’problem.
Note:
Make sure that you involve as many people as possible in solving a problem and use your workplace
newsletter to tell everyone in the workplace that you have taken the issue up.In this way,when you
get a problem solved everyone knows that it was pressure from GMB that got things done.
FAILURE TO AGREE
Make it clear to management if you are not satisfied with their response.Clearly register a failure to
agree and tell management that you intend to invoke the next stage of the procedure.Let your GMB
officer know about this failure to agree and seek advice on how to record this formally with your
employer.
STATUS QUO
Best practice,which you should try to obtain,is known as‘status quo’.This is important in collective
grievances.
Status quo means that while the issue is a matter of dispute the situation remains as it was before the
problem arose.It is covered by clause three of the general principles of the model GMB Recognition and
Procedure agreement.If you don’t have the‘status quo’in your agreement contact your Branch
Secretary or GMB Officer.