In light of numerous enquiries over recent weeks, it is important that you (the membership) are aware of how we (UNISON) conduct business on your behalf. Many of the recent enquiries we have received have been due to management passing information to staff and stating “This has been agreed by the Unions”.

The entire ethos of UNISON is that there is no “you and us”. In UNISON the membership is the Union. The makeup of Unison Ambulance Branch is dictated by the members, for the members. Each year every workplace must elect Unison Reps, Stewards and Health & Safety Reps. These people attend monthly Regional Stewards Committee Meetings and are the Branch Committee. The Branch Committee, at our AGM, elect from amongst the committee, persons to hold the senior branch posts.

These posts are:

• 2 X Joint Branch Secretaries
• 2 X Joint Branch Chairpersons
• 1 X Branch Health & Safety Chairperson

Other senior branch officials are also elected but these five make up the senior negotiating team and are responsible for negotiating all new policies and procedures. The process for agreeing to these new policies and procedures are as follows:

• Management present their suggestions to the Trade Unions or vice versa.
• The issues are debated and UNISON brings the proposals to the branch Committee.
• The Branch Committee debate these proposals / issues and agree a position.
• The senior negotiating team return to negotiations with management having received a remit from the Branch Committee.

If agreement is reached the new policy / procedure is drawn up and forwarded to the appropriate management committee for approval, then brought back to the negotiating team to be signed off and distributed to all relevant staff. If agreement is not reached the process begins again and this process continues until agreement is reached.

This is the process adopted by Unison and may not reflect what happens in other trade unions. However Unison believe that this is the most open and transparent way of conducting business. If something has been “agreed by the unions” there will be an audit trail and an agreed and signed off policy / procedure available to all our members. In the absence of such an agreed document there is no such agreement.

Given that this is the process, it is imperative that all viewpoints are represented at Branch Committee. The way to ensure this is to have a representative from your workplace in attendance at the committee. Whilst there is a senior negotiating team, there is no hierarchy at Stewards Committee Meetings, everyone’s point of view is welcomed and considered.

It is the Committee who consult with their members and give the negotiators their remit. Our senior negotiating team is made up of rank and file ambulance staff, Paramedics, EMTs and PCS staff. We do not have any managers on our negotiating team. We believe that this best represents the interests of our members and avoids any conflict of those interests.

Remember if you are informed that something “has been agreed by the Unions” there will be a signed document available detailing this agreement. If there is no such document then there is no such agreement.

UNISON Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Branch Committee.