INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS DEPARTMENT

LOUISE DAWSON explains the vital role of staff within this department.

Any RMT member that has ever used the union’s freephone helpline will have spoken to a member of Industrial Relations department based at Unity House in London. ‘IR’, as it is commonly known, represents the hub of the union, dealing with issues that affect members on a day-to-day basis. This frontline department will deal with anything to do with a member’s terms and conditions and will give advice on a multitude of issues.

The Department has also taken responsibility for the Advice Line and gives advice on non-work related matters. This is not a legal helpline but the department can give advice on many issues. Where this is not possible, for example where financial advice or family law (including divorce) advice is requested then they can point you in the direction of Solicitors or professional advisers approved by the Union.

When it comes to work related matters the department can assist with issues such as rosters, rates of pay, leave, disciplinary and grievance matters, the difficulties around PT&R (Promotion, Transfer and Redundancies), severance and ill-health severance. In short, anything that is workrelated, this department will deal with.

IR also co-ordinates all pay claims and conducts all referendums. It conducts all industrial action ballots and most members will know that conducting Industrial Action Ballots is a very important part of the union’s strategy in defending members’ terms and conditions and is fraught with legal difficulties. We can expand on this point and provide you with further information on the balloting process to assist in members’ understanding of the complexities.

First of all, when a report is received from your Regional Organiser or a resolution from your RMT Branch, this will be placed before the National Executive Committee for consideration and if it decides to declare a dispute with the Company, the IR Department will write to the Company listing the issues in dispute. This forms the first part of the legal notices. Then the NEC may take a decision to conduct a ballot for industrial action, which can consist of strike action and/or industrial action short of a strike. It is usually beneficial to ballot members for both forms of action to give more options later on but this does not mean that any action will necessarily be called.

The IR Department then has to prepare the legal notice of ballot, ballot paper and ballot info sheet. This starts with an exercise to make sure all members details are correct including their workplace, job title and contact details. A data file will be sent to your Regional Organiser who will arrange to check and update your details. This is especially important as the Company is notified of the number of members at each workplace, the number of members in each job category and the total number of members concerned – if this information is not correct it can lead to the Company challenging the ballot and in some cases, means we have to call off the ballot and start again.

Each member included in the ballot will then be sent a ballot paper and ballot info sheet by post from Civica Election Services with a freepost return envelope. These will give the member the opportunity to vote for industrial action and the ballot info sheet provides further information on the dispute. We aim for at least a 3 week balloting period before the closing date and we are able to send out replacement papers to any member who hasn’t received them during this period.

On the ballot closing date, Civica Election Services will send a report of voting to the IR Department giving the result. Under the current legislation, 50% of the total number of members who were balloted must have returned their ballot and 40% of the total number of members who were balloted must vote ‘yes’ for action to be able to take place. You will receive reminders from us during the course of voting as if we don’t meet these thresholds then the ballot will fail.

Once a successful ballot mandate has been achieved, which meets the above criteria, then the NEC can take a decision to call industrial action and again, the IR Department will conduct a further check on members details, paying particular attention to any differences in figures since the notice of ballot due to members joining, leaving, or changing jobs. We will then send the legal notice of action to the Company and inform you of the details of the action.

The whole process, from sending the notice of ballot, to the first possible date for industrial action, takes at least 6 weeks. A week between the notice of ballot and ballot papers posted to members, 3 weeks balloting period, then two weeks’ notice of action before the action starts.

After 6 months from the ballot closing date, the ballot mandate expires and we have to re-ballot members again from scratch if we want to continue taking industrial action. The IR Department will start the process in good time to make sure the new ballot closes before the first ballot expires.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO SUPPORT STRIKING WORKERS?

In an ever shifting political landscape we are given a daily report on Morning breakfast shows about which sector is taking strike action on that day and how it may effect you. The media is queuing up in an effort to challenge union officials in an effort to diminish public support for striking workers. You and your colleagues may have friends and family that are impacted by the strikes in various sectors and we should be encouraging discussion in every workplace about what you are doing to support those unions in dispute in your local area.