Dear fellow UNISON members. Last Friday (0610/23) I stepped down as Branch Secretary, to become a retired member.
Like most (all?) of you, I never envisaged taking on this role. I have always cared about fairness and equality, and try to stand up for these values, so it felt natural to take over as a workplace steward when our existing steward left. Over lockdown I found myself first covering the role and then being seconded to it.
It has been a real privilege to represent us all. It has been rewarding and challenging in equal measure; a very steep learning curve and often impossible not to feel imposter syndrome. But I have met some amazing activists, from our and other UNISON branches, and from other trade unions. I was never a budding Angela Raynor! (though I did have the opportunity to meet her at this years UNISON national conference). Angela Raynor joined UNISON as a care worker - 'born in Stockport , raised in the trade union movement.' UNISON provides so many opportunities to gain the skills and confidence to support yourselves, each other, and the valuable work you do for our communities. You might be amazed at what you could achieve.
Our lives are very busy. You may feel you have no free time to become involved. But being an 'activist' need only take a moment. Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members, working in public (including outsourced) services. UNISON has influence - you may have heard Christina McAnea speaking at this year's Labour Party conference. Is your voice being heard? UNISON, and unions in general, are what they say on the tin; a collection of people standing together to improve working and living conditions. Being an 'activist' might just mean keeping your contact details up-to-date. That's easy to do (see the link below), but not always done. It should certainly include voting in ballots on your pay and conditions. We are still waiting to hear the outcome of this year's NJC pay ballot. This could probably have been resolved months ago if more than half the members in all employers had voted, whether for or against. It is our responsibility to vote.
If you think you would like to get more involved, you can do it in small steps. Become a workplace contact, sharing information with colleagues and encouraging them to join. Come and see what happens at our Branch Executive meetings. While the majority of our members are women, branch membership is diverse: LGBT+, Black, Disabled; concerned about a range of wider issues, including equality and climate change; working in schools, social care, libraries, archaeology and museums, highways, refuse collection, admin etc etc. All your voices need to be heard, but it is up to you to achieve that. After 13 years of cuts and with an election likely next year, there has never been a more important time to stand up for public services and public service workers.
My UNISON | UNISON National
With best wishes for the future
Jane
Jane Evans (she/her)
Former Branch Secretary
UNISON Worcestershire Branch
30 Love's Grove, Worcester WR1 3BU
01905 26186