ONE UNISON branch and activist awards

In recognition of the dedicated work that our Branches and activists carried out during 2017 we are very pleased to introduce our Branch and activists awards, covering a number of key areas such as organising, recruitment and learning.

There are several awards up for grabs and the winners will be announced at the gala meal.

Learning award

UNISON is about members becoming active to help other members in the workplace. Our learning opportunities make this possible, and our members get the most from their membership when they have trained reps in the workplace and the opportunity to improve their own skills through lifelong learning.

Our Learning Branch of the Year will be the one that has put the largest percentage of its reps through training in 2017 and has participated in some form of workplace or work-based learning during the year. The top three branches will be shortlisted based on RMS and education/learning data, so no nominations will be needed for this award.

Recruitment award

New members are our lifeblood. They keep our branches growing, keep them focussed on what’s relevant in changing times and maintain the union’s ability to support everyone. We want to celebrate the branches that have recruited the largest percentage of new members in the last 12 months. We recognise that smaller branches have different challenges a factor that will be fully considered in the judging. The top three branches will be shortlisted based on RMS data, so no nominations will be needed for this award.

Campaigning award

Campaigning is what we do. It helps maintain visibility and keeps us engaged with issues in the workplace and in the community. Campaigning takes a number of forms – in the media, with politicians and opinion formers or directly with our members helping to push forward on their interests. Whatever we do it helps to give members confidence that UNISON is there for them. It keeps the employers on their toes too!

We want to showcase the fantastic work that branches in this region have been doing in the last year and so nominations are being sought from branches, activists and members for Campaigning Branch of 2017.

Communications award

Our most effective branches have great two-way communication networks and keep members up to date with what’s happening, but also crucially are able to represent their members better because they really know what members are thinking and feeling about issues.

Communication can be in many forms, from the ‘old school’ workplace meetings and flyers to email, Facebook, Twitter, websites and surveys. We want to celebrate the excellent communications work that many branches in this region have been doing in the last year, and so nominations are being sought from branches, activists and members for Communications Branch of 2017.

Health and safety award

One of the areas we can make a real, tangible difference for our members is in improving their health, safety and welfare at work. Physical hazards at work and personal injuries have been and unfortunately always will be with us but effective engagement with employers will bring these down to a minimum. Increasingly the mental health risks to our members delivering scarcer services to a more stressed public are becoming a more serious hazard. Our Health and Safety Branch of the Year will be the one that has done the best work for our members during 2017.

To nominate your branch or another branch email Ruth Adlam by 5pm on the 6 April 2018 stating the award you are nominating them for and up to 250 words explaining why you think they deserve to win.

Overall Branch of the Year Award

This award will be made from the shortlists of all the other Branch awards, and will be made to the branch that is judged to have made the best overall contribution to the union’s objectives during the course of 2017. Short listing will be overseen by the regional convenor team and the judging of awards by the regional finance, development and organisation committee. It will be a fair fight. No brown envelopes will be accepted.

Activist of the Year Award

We are nothing without our activists, and we have some truly amazing, skilled, dedicated and relentless representatives out there. We want to highlight some of these individuals, and we’re not just talking about the more visible ones who have stepped up to branch or regional leadership roles (although we welcome nominations for these). There are scores of workplace stewards, health and safety reps, learning reps and more out there who regularly go the extra mile for their members and deserve recognition.

To nominate an activist, please email Ruth Adlam by 5pm on the 6 April 2018 with the name of your nominee and up to 250 words explaining why you think they deserve to win.

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