Lambeth UNISON AGM – 3 March 2021

Lambeth UNISON AGM is being held online on 3 March 2021

The purpose of the AGM is to bring the branch committee and its officers to account:

  • to report on the branch’s finances;
  • to report on the branch’s activity during the past year;
  • to receive a report on the annual assessment.
     
    It is also to make decisions for Lambeth UNISON in 2021:
  • agree policies and plans for the year;
  • to elect branch officers and branch representatives to external bodies for the coming year
  • Elect conference delegates for Local Government Conference and National Delegate Conference
     
    This year there will be one AGM for all members and not a rolling AGM as we have had in previous years.
     

Do you want to write a motion for the AGM?

Motions at our AGM become branch policy and help guide us in campaigns we will run over the next 12 months.

For instance, we passed a motion at our 2019 AGM in support of school climate strikers and then we organised a delegation to go to their protest in central London in September. We passed a motion supporting the return of a Direct Labour Organisation (DLO) at the Council and we argued for it with senior managers, one is now being created.
Motions should be no more than 250 words (not including the title) and in numbered paragraphs
      .
Email motions to rcashman@lambeth.gov.uk copying in shannah@Lambeth.gov.uk

Do you want to stand for an elected officer position?

Nominations are now open for officer posts on our branch committee

Lambeth UNISON is run by a branch committee, made up of officers elected at AGM, convenors elected by members in each directorate of the council, and stewards elected by members in teams/workplaces.  The branch committee meets monthly and is the leadership of the branch. For an overview of the different roles and their responsibilities, please check out (https://www.unison.org.uk/about/our-organisation/activists/branch-roles/)

All officer posts are open for nominations. For information on how to nominate please read below.

Branch Secretary                In charge of day to day running of the branch, overall strategy, campaigns, etc (5 days facility agreed)
Assistant Branch Secretary     Currently three roles for overseeing policy, casework and campaigns
Branch Chair                        The branch chair facilitates branch and committee meetings, and may also be a senior negotiator.
Branch Vice Chair               Chairs meetings when the branch chair is unavailable
Branch Treasurer                 Responsible for finances in collaboration with the secretary
Deputy Branch Treasurer   Assists the branch treasurer
Publicity Officer                    Helps produce newsletters, manage social media accounts, press releases and so on.
Membership Officer             Assists with recruitment and retention, managing our membership database.
Health and Safety Officer##  Watch that badly fixed light! Is work making you stressed? Health and safety is the name of the game.
Environmental Officer         Helps keep the branch up to date on green issues and develops campaigns and policy (will be a very important role in years to come!)
Equality Officer                    Is responsible for equalities issues, assisting self-organised groups and being a union lead on equalities at work
International Officer            Keeps an eye on the news, is informed about international issues and feeds campaign ideas into the branch (e.g. anti-fascism in Brazil, solidarity with trade unionists in Colombia, anti-war campaigning in the Middle East)
Welfare Officer                     The lead person for assisting members with any welfare issues and providing access to UNISON’s welfare fund.
Learning Co-ordinator#      Works with employers and co-ordinates the work of union learning reps in supporting members with lifelong learning and skills for life
Education Officer                 Helps arrange training courses and education programmes for members, stewards, health and safety reps and branch officers.
Returning Officer                 Oversees elections for the AGM and any by elections that may be held for officer posts or convenor roles.
Branch Auditor                     Checks over our finances and ensures we have complied with UNISON regulations.
Deputy Branch Auditor       Helps the branch auditor carry out their duties
Young Members Officer**  Coordinates campaigning and organising work among younger members – are you under 27 and interested?
Labour Link Officer++         A crucial role in liaising with local Labour Parties and coordinating delegates from UNISON to Labour to advocate for our unions agenda.
** must be under 27 at end of their term of office (early 2022)  
++must be a Labour Party member who pays into the Affiliated Political Fund
# must be a trained ULR        (training provided)
## must be a trained safety rep (training provided)

All posts are open to job share 


To apply please email your name, membership number, employer and which role you are interested in standing for to JABlake@Lambeth.gov.uk copying in PDFitzgerald@lambeth.gov.uk. You will also need to find another member to second your nomination.

More details can be found on lambeth-unison.org or call Lambeth UNISON at 020 7926 2858 for more details or to answer any questions

Time Table for AGM

Monday 14 December 5pmDeadline for nomination of Branch Officers, Conference and other delegates
Monday 11 January 5pmDeadline for AGM Motions
Tuesday 12 JanuaryCirculation of motions and nominations received for AGM and reminder of dates
Monday 18 January 5pmCopy Deadline for Annual Report
Week 18-22 JanuaryLayout and printing of Annual Report
Monday 25 JanuaryCirculation of Annual Report (electronic)
Monday 8 February 5pmDeadline for amendments to motions for AGM
Monday 15 February 5pmDeadline for nominations for stewards
Tuesday 16 FebruaryFebruary Branch Committee – compositing of motions and amendments for AGM
Week of Monday 22 FebruaryElections for shop stewards etc. if required
Friday 26 FebruaryDeadline for Emergency Motions to AGM (motions will be accepted on issues after this date, contact branch secretaries for details)
Monday 1 MarchCopying of papers for AGM
Wednesday 3 MarchLambeth UNISON AGM

Motions agreed at the Lambeth UNISON conference in January 2018

Motions agreed at the Lambeth UNISON conference in January 2018

Proposed rule changes for National Delegate Conference
Finally Freeing our unions

Stand up to Racism Trade Union Conference
Support the Picturehouse Strikes!
Working for trans women’s equality in the union and labour movement

  Continue reading

Lambeth UNISON Annual General Meeting details

How You Can Get Involved

In January we will hold the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of our UNISON Branch. This is an important meeting at which we will elect the officers for the coming year and agree our policies.

As we have for the past couple of years we will organise a “rolling” AGM to maximise the opportunities for members to attend, with a main session (for which we will ask the Council for paid time off work) at lunchtime on Thursday 26 January, and two additional sessions in the days beforehand – one at the College and one (aimed particularly at school staff) after work at International House.

 

Activists

Our UNISON Branch has many enthusiastic activists – but we are always looking for more people to get involved and share the work! You can read about the branch officer positions which will be elected at our AGM on the UNISON website

The Branch Committee has agreed a timetable for the AGM and the important dates to note now are;

  • Monday 24 October – publication of notice of the AGM to all members;
  • Tuesday 6 December (5pm) – deadline for nominations;
  • Thursday 26 January 2017 (lunchtime) – AGM at Karibu Centre.