Occupational Therapy News OTnews January 2019 | Page 38

BAOT/UNISON Being a BAOT member means you also belong to Unison and can access support and advice on workplace issues at any time. Is 2019 the year that you become an occupational therapy steward? Happy New Year. If you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to take on a new challenge, why not think about becoming an occupational therapy steward? Occupational therapy stewards come from a wide variety of backgrounds – from managers to support workers – and some stewards job-share the role with one of their colleagues. An occupational therapy steward is someone who is a trained and accredited Unison steward, and a member of BAOT. They play a vital role in providing BAOT staff with a voice in the workplace. They act as a link between the members and their union, and provide colleagues with advice and support when they need it the most. What do stewards do? Being a steward enables you to represent your own views and needs, and those of your occupational therapy colleagues, during the many changes that happen in the workplace. By being a steward, you can influence the way in which those changes take place, and, in some cases, whether they happen at all. Occupational therapy stewards distribute information, talk to members and get their views; recruit new members; help members get advice on workplace problems; and act as spokesperson or representative for their work group. With training, experience and support from your Unison branch, you will be able to represent members in grievance or disciplinary meetings and be involved in negotiations with your employer – but you can do as much or as little as you want. As an occupational therapy steward you will be able to contribute to meetings where unions and management meet together to discuss and negotiate the workplace, including pay, terms and conditions, jobs, restructuring, service redesign and continuing professional development. What support and guidance is out there for me? In addition to the formal training, you will receive support, guidance and mentoring from experienced stewards and branch officers to help you get to grips with the role. You can also sign up for regular email updates and attend the annual national occupational therapy stewards training seminar, where you can meet other occupational therapy stewards to share experiences and learn new skills to help you in your role. You can become an occupational therapy steward whether you are working full or part-time, and if you want to lighten the load, you can opt to job-share the steward role with one of your colleagues. The skills and knowledge that you will develop in the role can really help with your personal and career development. Remember, the more stewards we have in the workplace, the stronger our voice and the better we can represent our colleagues. So if you, or someone you know, is thinking about becoming a steward, please email us at baotstewards@unison. co.uk for more information. Not sure if you want to be a steward? There are other ways to get involved: • Workplace contact: becoming a workplace contact is an ideal role for members who aren’t ready to take on the full role of elected steward. Workplace contacts can get involved in a variety of ways: recruiting, supporting members, distributing information, and helping with branch organisation. • Union learning representative (ULR): as a learning rep you can encourage and support staff to take up new learning opportunities and work with the branch to promote learning initiatives in the workplace. • Unison health and safety representative: every day, occupational therapy staff are affected by health and safety issues, from the use of equipment to lone working. As a health and safety rep, you can help to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of members in the workplace. • Unison equality representative: equality reps work with Unison branches to make our workplaces fairer by promoting respect and dignity at work. For any of the above roles, you would receive the appropriate support and training via your Unison branch. Help BAOT members to have a voice in the workplace – think about getting more active in your union in 2019 and contact us for more advice about what you can do to make a difference: [email protected]. If you have a problem at work, BAOT/Unison is there to help For help and advice at work - or to find out more about Unison services – please contact your local BAOT/Unison steward or call our helpline: UNISONdirect on tel: [phone]. Lines are open 6am to midnight Monday to Friday and 9am to 4pm Saturdays. 38 OTnews January 2019