Union Rep's Not Supporting Me

millymac

How do I tell my union rep I feel he's been compromised and do not wish him to represent me?

Pssst

I speak from experience and being a TU rep is a thankless and unrewarding task. It is unpaid and you get shot from both sides. sometimes you have to put yourself in the firing line for others and in the wrong circumstances,it can end up leading to you,the rep,getting shafted and being squeezed.

What do you actually WANT to happen and what do you think is fair?

It isnt a good idea to have periods of abscence/illness officially recorded in your personnel file. think of the impact on any future jobs you might apply for?

TU reps are not obliged to write anything. they act as informal and unpaid intermediaries . They often do mitigate negative outcomes for those they represent.

In the end the bottom line is,you have a contract of employment. you do the job as described and get paid. Dont do it? you leave yourself open to action/dismissal.

Liz_the_Whizz

There must be more to this - your union rep probably thought he had sorted out the best way through a tricky situation - if I remember, you had left work without authorisation when you felt unable to cope with all that had been going on.

But remember who you are now attacking - your union rep had found a way to get the disciplinary process against you dropped. You should have accepted his way to deal with this quite separately from your ongoing concerns about bullying and intimidation. He clearly feels that you have thrown it back in his face, hence the reaction. You can't afford to lose such a valuable ally.

There are times when, whatever the rights and wrongs of a situation, a person may put themselves beyond help. Unions like everyone in life have to pick their battles. I would go back to your union rep, say that you were too upset to think straight, and ask if he can do what he can for you. If you lose his support as well, your position will become even more isolated and untenable.

Stand back from this for a minute - your union rep is not trying to bully you, he is trying to make you see sense. You have to stop treating everyone who does not side with you completely as a threat. At the moment the biggest threat to your employment and wellbeing is YOU.

Believe me, I've seen people press self-destruct before. I really hope you can turn this around. Best wishes and good luck.

LtW x

tartanterra

Liz_the_Whizz wrote: »

Stand back from this for a minute - your union rep is not trying to bully you, he is trying to make you see sense. You have to stop treating everyone who does not side with you completely as a threat. At the moment the biggest threat to your employment and wellbeing is YOU.

Completely unfair.
You are making an assumption that the union representative is actually doing the right thing.
Just because someone is well meaning and "on your side", doesn't actually mean that they are competent at what they are doing.

The OP should contact their union directly, to seek further advice.

Good luck millymac

Strider590

Confusing but sounds familiar to my personal experience.

I put forward a personal grievance against a manager that had been trying to get her friend into my supervisor job by discrediting in any way possible.
She had been emotionally and mentally bullying every member of staff for 8 years on a 3 month rota basis, you could actually predict who was next.

There's much more to it, but two days after I put this 4 page grievance foward I was fired for timekeeping. The grievance was never investigated and was removed from company records. Eventually 2 years after I left, the MD left and this b**ch was caught trying to turn the workforce against the operations manager, she was then "made redundant" a month or so later. I only regret not being there at the gates to clap as she left the building for the last time, although for the pain she has caused she had better hope I never see her in the street.

I know this doesnt help your situation, it sounds like your rep is quite frankly useless, you need someone who would be willing to stand in a tribunal and say "they said if we lose this document, they'd drop the disciplinary". Those words would be enough to take them to the cleaners!
The document you put together would (if it was detailed enough) provide you with a degree of protection against any action taking against you.
For example:
If you tell an employer that you suffer from a sleep disorder and your then found to be falling asleep at work, they can't fire you, they MUST offer whatever assistance they can before deciding your not fit for employment.

borosteve_2

[quote=
If you tell an employer that you suffer from a sleep disorder and your then found to be falling asleep at work, they can't fire you, they MUST offer whatever assistance they can before deciding your not fit for employment.[/quote]

Does that include train drivers? :eek:

millymac

Thank you for your comments. I know it is very difficult to comment on a situation that you only get a bit of the story but just to point out "Liz the Whizz", my rep had already told me 3 days before the disp. hearing that he had spoken to the line manager chairing the hearing and she assured him that there was no chance of there being any disp. action anyway. So really, he did not negotiate anything, in fact I would have been better with a budgie sitting with me as he never spoke. This was despite saying in his previous meeting with me that he was going to "throw everything" at them, dignity at work, grievance against my line manager and the fact that the company brought about the problems by employing the mother of my job-share (person doing the bullying) as our line manager. :mad: In fact, he was useless and said nothing. Forgive me, but I have heard nothing positive about this person's ability as a union rep from ANY member of staff and will certainly not be needing his "support" in the future.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

What is the disp. hearing for?

In a disp. hearing the person that sits in for you is supposed to be a witness of what is said in the meeting, not to "throw everything" at them.

The rep would "throw everything" at them as part as the Grev. Proceedure & not in the disp hearing, if he did they are within their rights to kick him out..

millymac

Sure doesn't sound like he knows what he's talking bout then

Pssst

millymac wrote: »

Sure doesn't sound like he knows what he's talking bout then

Perhaps you should hire a lawyer?

Pssst

Strider590 wrote: »

For example:
If you tell an employer that you suffer from a sleep disorder and your then found to be falling asleep at work, they can't fire you, they MUST offer whatever assistance they can before deciding your not fit for employment.

The only people who truly have protection are those who have a condition prescribed under the disability discrimination act. Bottom line, if you cant fulfil your contract of employment,then they can terminate you.