ABOUT RCT UNISON

UNISON members are people working in the public services, or for private contractors providing public services and the essential utilities. They include manual and white collar staff working full or part time in local authorities, the NHS, colleges and schools, the electricity, gas and water industries, transport and the voluntary sector.

Every member of UNISON belongs to a local branch, which is made up of people working for the same employer. If you work for Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, you can join RCT UNISON. We also represent members in Pontypridd and Aberdare colleges, Careers Wales Mid Glamorgan, South Wales Fire Service, Glamorgan Engineering Consultancy and Glamorgan Archives.

UNISON is a democratic, lay-member led organisation, with members having input to all the decisions the union makes.

Here is a quick guide to how it works within RCT Branch.......

If a member has a problem their first point of contact is their Steward or Work Place Contact (WPC)

If the Steward or WPC cannot resolve the problem, the Steward takes it to their Convenor or Stewards Committee (Each Directorate has a Stewards Committee and at least two Convenors)

Convenors can then take up the issue either through management or through the Branch Committee, which ever is appropriate.

Through this system the people who know best deal with problems. Your Steward will probably know more about your personal circumstances than the Branch Secretary will. Also, despite rumours to the contrary, the Branch Secretary is only human and could not possibly deal with the individual problems of 5,000 members.

Having said that, there may be occasions when it would not be appropriate for members to discuss problems with Stewards who know them personally, in which case members can always ring the Branch Office 01443 400401.

Like wise, it works backwards. When the Branch Committee need to disseminate information to the members information is passed out through Stewards and WPCs.

If you want to be a Steward you will have the full support of the Branch including extensive training.

If being a Steward seems like too much of a commitment for you then you can become a Workplace Contact, which is exactly what the title implies. You will be asked to distribute information such as the Branch magazine 'The Branch Line' and to point members in the direction of their nearest Steward or Convenor. Simple as that. It does not involve a lot of commitment, but it will mean that you will be kept up to date with what is going on in the Branch.

If a workplace does not have a Steward or WPC or someone with e-mail facilities to pass on information sent out electronically then the members in that workplace are at risk of being left out of the loop and it reduces the democracy and efficiency of the Branch.

If you want to be involved with your union, contact:

UNISON office
High Street
The Graig
Pontypridd
CF47 1JN

Tel: 01443 400401
Fax: 01443 400288
e-mail rctunison@btconnect.com