Convenor Report

Convenors - Chrissie Hall & Liz Jefferies

Stewards - Paul Forbes, Eileen Webster, Chrissie Hall & Liz Jefferies

There has been a steady flow of work in the North East across the whole year.

Stewards have supported member during consultations, investigations, disciplinary and general issues.

There has been a substantial increase in the number of staff who contact us by telephone to ask for general support & guidance.

There were only 3 stewards working in the region until Sept 09 and we now have a another steward

who will be completing the next round of Representational Skills training to increase confidence & competence.

Chrissie Hall & l agreed to share the Convenor role & met regularly until November 2009 when she went on sick leave. We have set up a monthly update meeting with NE AD People in order to be informed of any upcoming issues in services so that we can prepare & plan stewards' time more effectively & efficiently - we will evaluate the benefit of this meeting later in 2010.

The amount of work coming through to us has increased to the extent that time release has become an issue for me and for other stewards/convenors. There is an urgent need for the issues of time release to be discussed nationally & a consistent, standardized process put in place as it is clear that throughout different regions different models are in existence for convenors.

Membership & Communication:

The region currently has 168 members and we have recruited at least 4 this year whilst supporting staff in specific services. We have delivered an information session at staff Corporate Induction in Regional Office, which is a permanent arrangement & is useful for recruitment. We have met as a stewards group three times in 2009 and plan to meet once a month in 2010. We have received feedback from individual managers that Unison's presence at meetings & pre-meetings has been very helpful in clarifying & resolving issues without the need for formal processes having to be undertaken.

Training & steward recruitment:

I attended the 'Managing Change' training in April 2009, which gave an overview of policy & practice and was helpful in preparing & planning in cases afterwards.

Eileen Webster joined as a steward & has been delivering the slot at corporate induction as well as attending stewards meetings. New stewards need a first step training in order to help them take that first step with their first case, with a certain level of confidence. However, it has proved difficult to access training mainly due to the fact that Unison, like many other organizations has a limited budget & training is only being delivered when a minimum number of participants have confirmed their attendance. It is hope that some training will be availably earl in 2010 so that new stewards do not lose interest. In the meantime, shadowing, corporate induction & first stage meetings are the things which can be used to induct stewards in this role. Some staff have expressed that they may be interested in becoming a steward but that the issue of time release was a contributory factor in not going ahead.

Local Joint Forum:

There were 2 LJFs this year in 2009, one attended by Bob Woods to feedback about specific points and to clarify expectations from Barnardo's about Unison's involvement in the managing change process. The working relationship between Unison & People department in North East is still an area that we will be working on this year & with which we hope to make positive progress.

Branch Development:

Unfortunately due to the number of cases, our day-to-day work demands, numbers & issues with time release, there has been little opportunity to undertake any substantial work on Branch development.

At our planned stewards meeting we will need to draw up a plan for the forthcoming year with a primary target of recruiting members & stewards (in order to spread the workload).

Branch Executive Committee Meetings:

I have attended all meetings in 2009 except in September when l was unable to do so due to supporting members through an investigation & disciplinary process which went on for 12 months.

These meetings are well attended by all Convenors and Officers & allow us all an opportunity to learn from each other's work across the country, begin to see parallels in casework and for the wider development of the Branch. The meetings themselves have evolved as the Branch grows & there is a much better sense of participation, support and mutual respect as we continue to develop and grow. It also provides the Chair/Vice Chair & Secretary with items to filter through to UK Joint Forum

Casework:

My thanks to Bob Woods & Simon MacGowan for help when steward numbers were low & case numbers high.  Recognition should also be given to the fact that in the latter part of the year, many colleagues within the Branch gave very generously of their time & skills to support all of us in many different ways and it was appreciated by those of us on the receiving end - it very much displayed the collective strength of the Branch for each other & Barnardo's Unison members.

Across the region, casework in supporting members has been about sickness absence, consultations, flexible working on return to maternity leave, long-term support of members following long-term absence, bullying & harassment, TUPE (for which there is a clear learning need for some updated training).

There have been some consultations where funders have not cut funding entirely, but have reduced it from funding 2 posts to funding 1 post. The financial climate has had a detrimental effect on the number of bids that the region has been able to tender for. It is clear that in 2011 there will be a significant increase in the number of consultations as many services' 3 year funding will be coming to an end as well as LAs being pressured to make cuts within and streamline departments and services which will have an impact on the amount of work coming into the region.

Learning:

Membership is currently rising slowly but still rising and in order to give members the best service we can, there are a number of issues which need to be given more consideration:-

• Clarification of Convenor role & standardization across the country with regard to time release for Convenors
• Better planning for training so that new stewards can access as early as possible
• Further discussions at UK Joint Forum re 77123 budget as a result of increasing membership, increasing caseloads & training requirements

Liz Jefferies