spotlight
Personal Profile
Name: Derek Earnshaw – Branch Chair
Status: I am married to Sue with 4 children, Darren, Gareth, Ashley, Natalie. (It took a long time to get a girl!).We have lived in Morley for the last 18years, I was originally born in Hunslet, South Leeds .I should be a grandfather any day now.
Occupation: electrician. I transferred from Leeds City Council in 1986 but actually worked at Leeds Polytechnic amongst other council buildings, as an apprentice in 1968 when the Bakery was situated where the Student Union Bar is now. I will have completed 40 years service in August of this year.
Work location: Headingley workshops, Estates, (old boiler house) tel ext: 23590 mobile :07969289876
Union positions held: Over the last 20 years. Steward, Health and Safety Rep, Branch Secretary, Branch Chair (current ) Regional Chair of HE service Group, National Chair Craft forum, National Service Group Delegate (current) ,National Chair of HE service group (current).
Hobbies: Have you got all day. I am a Rugby NUT! I coached and managed a Rugby union junior team from 1995 to 2006 and was Junior Chairperson of Morley RFC for 3 years. I am also a huge Rhinos fan. In fact I am a sport fanatic, anything competitive.
Ambitions: I am not going to look too far in front .I have been very lucky in life and been able to achieve most things I have set out to do ,so the Lions tour 2009 to South Africa is the next goal.
day in the life...
Name: janet carr – Branch secretary
I was asked for a typical day in the life of an over worked Branch Secretary, mother and Leeds met employee, so for you amusement here it is.
Tuesday
6.45 am weekdays, the alarm goes off (theme tune Dr Who) and I am beamed into the real world. This will not be a typical working day, I don’t have any!
Get up (no snooze) and run downstairs.
First job put the kettle on, for upwards of 2 brews as required and shout my family and any overnight residents to take first turn in the bathroom.
I make teas/coffees to take back up stairs, and put up our lunch boxes whilst others trickle downstairs; they leave (none without a hug) and I check my text inbox and emails at home before setting off for work. I do this because if there is an urgent case I can call to Harrogate, Carnegie Stand or any Civic Quarter building to meet a member before I go to my day job on Headingley Campus. I work in the best unit in the university (my view obviously), in the currently named BSU but soon hopefully to be renamed!
The Unit I supervise is the central point for the acquisition of all university library stock, using various types of purchasing agreements. We acquire electronic, print and multimedia resources and research and trial in liaison with our external suppliers, new ideas and methods of best practice for internal and external process and procedure; and obviously how we should pay for it!
I have been Branch Secretary (BS) of UNISON since February 2007, and do that half time each week, whilst my job share partner Eric Jackson, takes the reins in the BSU the other half of the time. The BS learning curve has been steep but not overwhelming. I had a fair introduction from the outgoing Secretary, who said the best way to learn was for him to point me to the knowledge and then let me find what was valuable. Very true, the workload is tremendous. When members are upset or distressed they need comfort from their branch leaders and do not generally approach other exec members first unless they know them personally.
Most days are filled with meetings of University business, trade union duty and my day job, but more recently helping members fill out their IMP’s and sitting on Appeals panels. At the moment, my own faculty is still in a review period despite the need for review being signalled many months ago. This has been very distressing for all the many members UNISON has in this area and has greatly added to the workload. My particular interests/skills in Dignity at work, prevention of harassment and bullying and other supportive mechanisms, have been called/stretched to the limit this year, I look forward to the completion of the review and would like someone to commit to a target date.
I rarely leave work before 5.15 pm having often traversed between sites on at least 2 occasions during the day, I don’t plan meetings just attend them. Sometimes I also have to change site for my Board of Governor’s Committees, which are always held in the first part of the week.
I rarely go home to an empty house, and whoever is there likes to cook or eat out. I read lots and have an interest in personal wellbeing. My family and friends are the reason to work hard and look forward. Most of them are swimmers, runners, cyclists, divers, walkers, climbers, dancers singers and all love food. Life is good but there is no guaranteed work/life balance from day to day, so my philosophy is “take what you can when you can”.
‘What we have achieved over the last year’
· Membership now over 800
· Negotiated on behalf of the estates ground staff who had not received their ex-gratia payment. Over 70 staff will be receiving £250-£400 pro-rata for part time in their salary.
· Supported members who were taking voluntary early retirement/redundancy to ensure they received their correct entitlements and solicitor support.
· Successfully represented members at both disciplinaries and grievances, overturning previous outcomes and lodging over 30 grievances for equal pay claims (as a result of HERA) via Thompson’s solicitors at Employment tribunal.
· Achieved successes in 20% - 25% HERA Appeals Panels, getting many roles uplifted and scores raised.
· Succeeded in getting a member of staff who had been acting in a senior role for over three years confirmed in post.
· Negotiated shift pay and back pay for caretakers at Harrogate who were working patterns of work covering 11 hours but not being paid shift pay.
· Represented Student Union staff members who have been hit hard by redundancy and secured employment for a number of staff.
· Negotiated with the University about moving the Staff Development festival to the week after the Bank Holiday. The University may claim it had nothing to do with UNISON but this change was a result of pressure from Unison based on our family friendly values.
· Have successfully supported our members through Management of Attendance interviews, we helped one of our members who wished to try reduced hours on health grounds to receive full pay for a limited period.
· Met with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reps when they visited the university recently following union allegations of bullying and harassment. The HSE were very interested in our opinion of policy, procedures and especially those who may appear to have a cavalier attitude to health and safety. WATCH THIS SPACE!
· ACAS are coming to the university to meet with the employer and trade unions this year – a move which we welcome and will engage in fully.