Elected Chair of Greater London UNISON Housing Associations Branch

 

I was really pleased to be elected Chair of my branch on Thursday evening at our AGM (As well as Labour Link officer). I have held nearly all the different executive positions in my branch but not Chair. 

I also successfully moved a branch rule change to create the position of assistant branch chair. It is really important that we encourage and train up the next generation of union activists to take over from us. 

What was very nice was that the branch had emailed all members to do a survey on their experience of trade union representation by local stewards and officers. A member from my employer made a lovely comment about my support for them and their colleagues in a recent restructure at work.  

The branch is growing and has over 3000 members who work in around 150 different Housing Associations in Greater London (and beyond).

There are also many new opportunities to growing the union due to the Employment rights bill, and also in the future, from the potential for sectorial bargaining (new version of wage councils). Housing Associations would make a natural fit to follow the Social care pilot. 

I will be continuing to press for all housing association workers in London to be part of our branch and not a local government or health branch (and all charity/3rd sector workers to be in the Voluntary Organisations branch). While many of these branches do an excellent job representing members some do not and it is always much better to organise around common or similar employment conditions. 

Lots of other problems to overcome but exciting times. 

Greater London UNISON Housing Associations Branch Annual Report 2018 (1) Branch Chair Report

Branch chairs report: Tony Power

It's been a year of uncertainty for all of us. The Brexit vote of 2016 still continues and has consequences that are still not clear and this has become particularly unsettling for our members who have come from the European Union and beyond. These members are our friends, neighbours and work colleagues and it is upsetting for us to see the distress this uncertainty is causing them. Unison is doing all it can to provide support for those most worried about what lies in store post Brexit. It has published two guidance documents; Migrants and the future of social care and Your Right to Remain, both of which are excellent sources of support and are available on the Unison website. As Dave Prentis says in the introduction:

“Now, more than ever, our union must show its support for members from across the EU. They have given so much to our communities and our services – now we must stand with them and defend their right to remain”

This year has seen the branch restructure still ongoing and I'd like to put on record my thanks to all of the staff for bearing with us during this process. There have been a lot of factors that we've had to take into consideration including budgets. As well as agreeing a new structure with current staff that provides the best possible service for you, our members. We are working closely with the region to ensure this process is concluded as soon as possible and with the full co-operation of our branch staff who throughout the year have worked incredibly hard supporting our members. I would like to thank them personally for all of the help they have given me and the rest of the executive team over the past 12 months.

On a sad note we have had to say goodbye to a couple of highly respected and regarded Unison officials this year.

Firstly, I'd like to put on record my thanks to Colin Inniss our previous Regional Organiser for all of his hard work and support that he is given both to you the members and us in the branch executive during his time with us. We are sad to see him go but we all wish him well in his new post in the local government sector. On behalf of all of the branch I would like to say a big welcome to Ezequiel Kramer our new Regional Organiser. It’s great to meet you Ezequiel and we look forward to a long and fruitful working relationship.

The second sad goodbye is to our current branch secretary John Gray. Who I have been fortunate to work with so closely over the past number of years. John's been a terrific Branch Secretary and has made a real impact on the branch and how it works. We are sad that he's decided to stand down but we hope that he remains an active member of the branch executive committee.

In conclusion I want to remind all of you that we are only as strong as you, our members, make us. I urge you to not only continue your membership but also commit to making 2019 the year that you become more active in your union by becoming a shop steward, health and safety rep or a staff contact and by so doing join the current activists to that are the backbone of Unison.

With so much uncertainty around at the moment there has never been a better time to be a part of an organisation like Unison which is fighting for the rights of all of workers in your workplace, region and worldwide.

LAPFF Conference 2010: Sir John Parker, The role of the Chairman in the New Environment

Caption is from The Independent who described Sir John Parker as a British superhero Clark Kent! He is the Chairman (not Chair?) of FT100 National Grid and former Chairman of Anglo American. Ian Greenwood introduced him with the comment “if the light go out during his speech we know who is to blame”.

Sir Parker believes “always leave things better in any new company”.

Health and safety is his number 1 agenda item (together with Environment). Employees come to work each day and should go home safely to their family and those who use our products should do so safety.

Non-Executive directors must prepare for meetings. Nothing makes him more angry than those who do not. Non-Executives should challenge courageously but support when necessary. They must find out more about the company. Not be arrogant. Those who are arrogant at their 2nd or 3rd only meeting push the seeds of their destruction. They need to be effective and independent minded. Stop the company taking unnecessary risks.

What relationship should a Chair have with a Chief Executive Officer (CEO)? He once took one of his new CEOs out in his 40 foot yacht. This CEO had no experience of sailing. It was rough weather and he told him that he was now going down below to get a cup of tea and that he would let him get on with it. He will only interfere if he asks for help or if he as Chair judges it absolutely necessary.

The only time he will actively intervene is to “turn around” a company in trouble. But there is nothing worse than a Chair who will not let go. Who has a high leadership profile at the expense of the company. Who is too dominate, too dictatorial, too argumentative. A poor listener who ignores the collective wisdom of the board. The Chairman who burns up all the oxygen in the boardroom. Personal conceits are most dangerous. Leave your ego at home. Keep in touch with advisors. Have a good feedback with shareholders. Not only formal but informal. Make it clear that the golden rule for any CEO is “do not surprise me”. It is not nice to watch when the Chair/CEO relationship breaks down. The oversight of executive development is key. The succession planning of the CEO is one of the most important things you do.

(JG: funny enough most of above applies also to the Labour Movement IMO)

Companies have a corporate identity. But you must ensure that the long term interests of the beneficial owners of companies are properly represented on modern day boards. Actively monitor action plans. Remember the Japanese word kaizen “Doing things better tomorrow than we did today”.

(JG) I thought this was very interesting but in the following Q&A I didn’t think he answered some questions as fully as some. There was a good question about his comments on the importance of having competent board but why was there such an imbalance in the number of female directors (never mind Chairs or CEO’s). He acknowledged that there were such problems and pointed out that the organisations he has chaired are making progress in this area.

I asked whether in light of recent cuts in the pay of senior executive in the public sector whether the private sector should follow. Bearing in mind that the pay ratio differential from lowest pay to the highest pay in the private sector was so vast? He at first appeared to blame such differentials on remuneration experts “I hope there is none in the audience” but he agreed that more has to be done. Pay had been affected by what had happened in Banking. As a member of the Bank of England committee for 5 years one of the worse jobs he has done was dealing with the consequences of the banking crisis. (I’m not sure what he meant by this? Perhaps though it is my note taking)

In another question regarding risk he explained how his company at the time didn’t plan at all for the Swine fever outbreak. A risk that they simply did not consider beforehand as needing a plan. They couldn’t lay pipelines or enter farms due to restrictions. This turned out to be a huge risk that they did not capture.

A question from another trade union rep praised him as being a breath of fresh air on safety issues but asked how does he ensure that his positive views goes beyond the boardroom? Sir John answered that one way was that his company board individually considers every single “near miss” safety report from all their company operations all over the world.  Which is pretty good.  In in my experience many employers don't even bother to discuss actual accidents at work which result in injury never mind "near misses".  Rock on Superman!