Voting

hook

Question we are at the moment voting on a new roster at work and half the staff have managed to put their vote in. We have now been told that all staff that did not vote theirs will count as a yes. Is this normal surely if you don't vote then the votes cannot be counted. I have tried looking on the web for some sort of answer to this.

Owain_Moneysaver

Unless you have a collective bargaining agreement eg through a union, it doesn't matter what a survey says; if it's a change in your terms of employment it has to be agreed by the individual employee.

If the employees work under the new conditions without objecting then they may have accepted the change in conditions by conduct.

ValHaller

Whose ballot is this? Is it management's or is it the union doing it?

hook

Because we now do not have enough staff they have asked for a new roster to be made. Problem is the union rep I don't think has made an effort to inform staff. He has emailed us but we don't always have enough time to check our work e mails. I did manage to get him to do a revote. But now the deadline is up and he has said that anyone who who did not vote theirs will be a yes to the new roster which by the way is the one he made.

hook

Forgot to mention he is a RMT rep

ValHaller

I take it that the answer to my question is that the ballot is a union ballot.

That being the case, you and you colleagues can go to the branch meeting with a motion of censure or of no confidence. As there is collective bargaining, your union rep may have the authority to do it without a ballot (if he is a fool). It strikes me he may be using authority derived from having a recognised negotiating role with the employer rather than form having a Union role.

hook

Sorry but I'm a bit thick when it comes to this sort of thing he is a staff rep RMT but a couple of us are TSSA and others not in a union. He proposed this new roster which we do need one. There is a difference of opinion with it and the deadline has now gone so no more votes. As he stayed in a email that anyone who did not vote then there votes will automatically be classed as a yes. But surely like in a vote at the polling stations if I decide not to vote then it is ignored and not counted.

ValHaller

OK, this is going to be difficult to untangle - lets start with this: Was it made clear before the ballot that abstentions would be counted as for?

hook

Not the first ballot no when we redone the vote yes it was stated this is what's gonna happen.

ValHaller

hook wrote: »

Not the first ballot no when we redone the vote yes it was stated this is what's gonna happen.

OK, everyone knows where they stand. If the result is 'Yes' and they did not vote 'No', then there are no grounds for complaint.

It is not ideal democracy, but given that he is a staff rep rather than a union post holder, I think he is not totally out of order to do it this way.

hook

Sorry might have not mentioned but he is a RMT rep