Trade Union Official

Overview

As a trade union official, your role revolves around advocating for the rights and interests of union members in their workplaces. This means working to secure better terms and conditions, safeguarding employment rights, and ensuring job security for members. Your goal is to help create workplaces where unions are strong and members are supported.

Your duties will include providing various services directly to members and training, guiding, and motivating volunteer union activists to do the same. It’s crucial to ensure that all activities align with the overarching policies of the union. You’ll learn to implement organising strategies throughout your apprenticeship across workplaces, employers, or regions.

Communication skills are key in this role. You’ll regularly interact with various people, including union members, industry associations, government representatives at various levels, and advocacy groups like the press and media.

What You’ll Do

• Promote Trade Union Benefits: Spread awareness about the advantages of being part of a Trade Union to various groups, past and present, to grow its membership.
• Conduct Research: Analyse the industrial scene to find opportunities for the Trade Union, considering political, economic, and other factors to plan effective campaigns.
• Plan and Manage Campaigns: Lead campaigns to meet Trade Union goals, whether expanding membership or achieving specific workplace outcomes, within set timeframes.
• Recruit New Members: Lead efforts to recruit new Trade Union members and inspire others to do the same, meeting recruitment targets and identifying growth opportunities.
• Retain Existing Members: Develop strategies to keep current members engaged by highlighting the relevance and positive impacts of Trade Unionism, meeting retention targets and coaching others to do the same.
• Establish Union Structures: Set up effective systems to identify and support activists within the union, ensuring they’re trained and capable of representing members.
• Communicate Effectively: Design communication strategies to keep everyone informed and engaged, tailor messages to different groups, and adhere to privacy regulations.
• Represent Individual Members: Provide advice and support to individual members in workplace settings, ensuring their rights are upheld and supporting other activists in doing the same.
• Undertake Collective Negotiations: Negotiate with groups of members to improve workplace conditions or protect existing rights, engaging members and supporting activists in negotiation efforts.
• Promote Equality and Inclusion: Actively promote equality and inclusion within the union and workplaces, driving initiatives to ensure fair treatment for all members.
• Promote Union Policies: Advocate for the union’s policies and objectives, involving members in decision-making processes and implementing policies in workplaces.
• Manage Workload: Effectively manage multiple tasks, meeting deadlines, maintaining records, and ensuring compliance with confidentiality and data protection regulations.
• Ensure Health and Safety Compliance: Promote adherence to health and safety laws in workplaces, establishing safety structures and supporting representatives in their roles.
• Promote Union Learning: Encourage learning opportunities within the union, negotiate agreements with employers, and raise awareness among members and potential members.

What You’ll Learn

• Understanding the significant impact of Trade Unions throughout history, including their role in shaping employment laws, fighting for workers’ rights, ensuring fair pay, promoting diversity, and contributing to economic growth.
• Recognising the purpose and structure of their own Trade Union, including how it operates democratically, its specific rules and processes, and how it relates to various industries and workplaces within the broader social, economic, and legal contexts.
• Identifying stakeholders and target audiences within the union, analysing power dynamics among them, and recognising the influence of the community on Trade Union goals.
• Learning how to conduct evidence-based research, utilise existing studies, commission new research, and apply findings to their work within the union.
• Understanding project management principles, including effectively planning and executing campaigns and utilising relevant tools and systems.
• Using communication strategies to attract and retain members, understanding modern communication methods, tailoring messages to different audiences, and measuring the impact of communication efforts.
• Exploring reasons why individuals join Trade Unions, understanding membership trends, addressing workplace and social realities, and improving member experiences.
• Recognising the importance of membership growth and retention for the sustainability and influence of Trade Unions and understanding the benefits, rights, and responsibilities of union membership.
• Familiarising oneself with the legal framework surrounding Trade Union operations, including employment laws, equality legislation, and health and safety regulations, and understanding how these apply in various workplace scenarios.
• Selecting appropriate education methods for union members, identifying access routes and funding sources, and understanding the union’s learning agenda and policies.
• Learning about the principles and practices of organising workplaces within the union’s approach to organising.
• Understanding the importance of equality within Trade Unions, participating in equality campaigns, and implementing techniques to address equality issues in the workplace.
• Applying relevant legislation and leveraging opportunities related to health and safety in the workplace.
• Recognising the importance of lifelong learning for members and potential members and identifying opportunities for union-led education initiatives.