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Representative Duties: Assisting and Advising; Representing and Negotiating for Individual Members; Representing the Collective Interests of Members; Ensuring Implementation of TUI policy and Agreements to which the union is party.
TUI believes that consistent and skilled workplace representation is key to achieving our primary purpose of guaranteeing the welfare of members and protecting their interests. The strength and efficacy of our union depends significantly therefore on you, our representatives. Yours is the single most important role in the union. You perform the essential union function.
The role of representative is a formal and responsible role that requires tact and skill. It can of course be challenging and is not a position to assume casually or without consideration. Neither is it so onerous as to be eschewed as a role. It is in fact highly rewarding on a personal and professional level. Many representatives are at first reluctant to take on the role but quickly become highly motivated and find the role satisfying. Being a TUI representative affords you an opportunity to serve members and give effect to our collective voice.
Your role is to organ/se and represent. Within this context you will recruit members, communicate for them and to them, assist them, advise them, protect them and represent them.
You will negotiate for them, individually and collectively, within the parameters of agreed procedures, and guided by union policies. As a negotiator you will bring the power of the Union to bear in workers’ interests. Your consent and co-operation on members’ behalf will be sought and valued by any enlightened management.
Your overall role entails building the Union’s authority and effectiveness at school/college* level, assisting members, protecting and promoting members’ interests and improving organisation. The specific duties that are devolved to you are set out below. Please note that you are expected to fulfill these duties within your role and authority as a representative. For example, you are expected to ensure management compliance with national agreements, where it would be appropriate that such compliance be sought at the local level. You are only expected to act within the scope of your role as representative. You will of course have the help and assistance at all times of your colleagues and, in particular, the TUI school/college committee.
You enjoy certain entitlements as a TUI representative. You are entitled to the loyalty and support of your colleagues. You are entitled to appropriate information and full participation in union affairs from the members. You are entitled to receive protection, training, information and support from your branch, the Executive Committee and head office personnel.
From your employer, you are entitled to receive appropriate information, good communications, access to the appropriate level of management, facilities to conduct union business and time off for training and carrying out your representative functions in the establishment in which you work.
* ‘school/college’ is used in the generic sense and should be understood to denote all workplaces.
• To recruit new members to TUI.
• To ensure that all members are ‘in-benefit’ members.
• To ensure that members are aware of, and receive, union and other benefits.
• To act at all time in concert with your colleagues on the TUI school/college committee.
• To be familiar with sources of information and support — to know where to get information and advice.
• To be conversant with procedures, policies and agreements to which the union is party.
• To encourage members’ involvement in the union and build a stronger union.
• To keep your branch informed of union activities.
• To provide such advice and information to TUI Head Office as may be sought from time to time.
• To discharge such duties as may be requested from time to time by the President, Executive Committee or Head Office.
• To liaise with your branch officers and Area Representative, who is available to visit your school/college, advise on TUI policy and assist you in processing queries.
• To liaise with board of management/governing body TUI representatives.
• To attend TUI training courses.
• To keep records and pass them on to your successor.
• To distribute notices, letters, newsletters and policy directives to members.
• To ensure that the TUI notice board is up to date and that all notices/circulars are displayed.
• To request copies of Department of Education and Science circular letters sent to your principal teaching colleague/head of department and copy relevant circulars for members, as appropriate.
• To ensure that reports from your board of management/governing body are given to school/college meetings.
• To report to school/college meetings on the outcome of meetings with management.
• To organise the annual election of TUI representatives prior to your branch’s annual general meeting.
• To ensure that your school/college committee meets at least once per term.
• To ensure that school/college meetings are convened at least once per term.
• To call such other Union meetings as may be necessary from time to time.
• To ensure the nomination at a school TUI meeting of candidates for the position of teacher representative on your board of management.
• To ensure members' support for the properly nominated TUI candidate(s) in elections to Boards of Management.
• To provide and obtain support, advice and assistance for individual members.
• To advise members on conditions of employment issues and answer members’ queries.
• Where unable to address members’ queries, to forward members’ queries to your branch for response/assistance.
• Where appropriate, and following discussion of the matter by the School/College Committee, to invoke the grievance procedure, and represent members in the initial stages of grievances.
• To encourage members to attend branch meetings.
• To ensure that at least one member of your school/college committee attends every branch meeting.
• To represent to your branch the consensus view of members in your school/college/centre.
• To assist and influence policy development through submission of motions for adoption at general and annual general branch meetings.
• To take issues up with management.
• To protect members.
•To act on behalf of the Union as requested from time to time by the President, Executive Committee, and Head Office.
• To liaise, and work with representatives from other unions in your school/college.
• To provide Management with copies of Union Directives, and other relevant documentation.
• To ensure compliance by management with union policy, legislation and national agreements.
• To ensure members’ adherence to union directives.