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 Home Get Active Successful Organising
Dedicated Reps make their mark10 January 2007Yvonne Charlton embodies the types of qualities union reps need to do a good job for their members. “Apart from a belief in fairness and justice you need to be enthusiastic and enjoy the work you do,” said Yvonne, 65, who has been the Rep at the Tesco store in Didcot, Oxfordshire for 10 years. “You also need to be well organised with good communication skills. Put all this together with Usdaw’s excellent training package and you’re ready to go. “People will join if the union has a high profile in the store,” added Yvonne, who is also a Health and Safety Rep and Branch Secretary of Oxford General branch. “The profile is primarily down to how well organised the reps are. When I took over I was on my own and we had 60 members. We now have an excellent team of five reps and 190 members. “Our agreement with Tesco is good with excellent recruitment facilities built in, but we need to get the best out of the agreement. “The stand down facility for instance allows reps blocks of time out to recruit.” Inductions are the ideal opportunity to recruit new members, says Union Rep John Kenny who works at the Sainsbury’s store in Rhyl, North Wales. “Being able to speak to new staff from day one lets them know the union is an integral part of their working life,” said John, 60. “I talk about the successes the union has had in the store during my eleven years as a rep and the benefits of Legal Plus which helped win substantial compensation for a member injured at work just four days after she signed up. It also won reinstatement for a member dismissed because of an alleged cash discrepancy. These members would have been lost without the union’s help. “This kind of approach works and the more members you have the easier it is to encourage new people to join. Although progress has been slow it’s been steady, and we now have more than 50 per cent membership. For the last two years I’ve had new Rep Pat Dawson on board, learning the ropes. This has helped free up some of my time to work as a stand down rep in other Sainsbury’s stores in the division.” Meanwhile Steph Mountford has been working closely with Area Organiser Paul McKenna to improve her recruitment and organising skills. “Developing new Reps and training them with the skills so they can be self-sufficient is an important part of our organising strategy,” said Paul who is based at Warrington. Steph is the only Rep at the Sainsbury’s store in Hanley, Staffordshire. “I’ve been a Rep for two years and I’m still learning,” said the 45 year-old part-time shop assistant. “The union’s training courses have built up my skills, knowledge and assertiveness. “Paul negotiated two weeks stand down for me and I jumped at the chance to put myself to the test. “By the end of it I had increased membership by ten per cent. I was really proud of myself and the progress I’d made.” Contact Details Media and Communications Department Ph: 0161 224 2804 Fax: 0161 249 2490 communications@usdaw.org.uk  Printer Friendly Page  Email to a Friend
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