The role of union representatives on club boards

Welcome to your exciting new role!

It’s great you’ve been elected to the club board at your workplace. With the other members of the club board, you have been elected by the members to represent them. All members of the club board are jointly responsible for the activities of the club and for ensuring that the decisions taken are put into action. As far as members, prospective members and your employer are concerned, in many ways the members of the club board are Unionen – you are the face of Unionen in the workplace.

As a Unionen elected representative, you will receive support and a wide range of courses and activities to equip you for your role.

The club’s work includes

• Running the work of the club between the annual general meetings (AGMs)

• Talking to members and passing on their views to your employer

• Pursuing the issues that are important to members

• Negotiating with the employer, e.g. on pay or reorganisation

• Providing information about the work of the club, ongoing negotiations and current issues

• Holding members’ meetings and AGMs with members

• Providing information about membership and spreading awareness of the benefit of Unionen in the workplace.

Getting started on your club board

Draw up a plan for the activities that will take place during the year and when they will be carried out. The plan should include recurring events such as board meetings, members’ meetings and the annual general meeting, but also a description of the areas you will be working on and the results you want to achieve. Good planning makes your work easier, while members can easily see what you are working on. It also tends to foster a good dialogue with your employer.

A good plan includes:

• A description of the areas you will be working on

• Why you are working on those particular areas (needs)

• What you are going to do (activities)

• The result you want to achieve (objective)

• When the work will be completed (schedule)

Examples of areas that might be included are skills development, pay, recruitment, negotiations, work environment, membership activities. When you then write the report on the year’s activities for the AGM, its content will be based on the work you have done as set out in the plan. A template for the plan is provided here.

Working with the work environment representative

There are great benefits to finding ways to work well in partnership with the work environment representative so that together you can raise awareness of work environment issues. Although you might belong to different unions, there is much to be gained from working together.

Skills development too!

A club isn’t just good for the workplace. It’s also good for you and your personal development. You gain access to free training programmes and seminars that you have the opportunity to attend during paid working hours. As the link between your employer and members, you’ll have an overview of your organisation and its decision-making pathways, and by virtue of your role, you’ll have a real chance to exert influence. Unionen’s trade union advisors and your regional office will support you, ensuring that you are comfortable and secure in your role. It is also a useful experience to have on your CV.

Several roles on the club board

If a club board is to be effective, it is important to divide responsibilities and duties between you. There may be several different roles on a club board. Chair, board member and secretary are among the most common ones.

Depending on the size of the club, the type of workplace you work in and how the work is organised, there may be a need for additional board roles. It may be helpful to have deputies for some roles. See the types of roles on the club board.

Just set up a new club?

Invite members to a meeting by logging on at unionen.se and using "Nyheter och enkäter” (News and surveys) under "Mitt uppdrag” (My role). Introduce yourself and what the club aims to achieve. Take the opportunity to show members how to log in and update their contact details at unionen.se. This will make sure they get the information you send them.

Tell members how they can reach you – by email, by phone or the times you are available.

Opening a bank account in the name of your club can be a handy way to handle payments and receipts. Before you can open a bank account, you will need an organisation number, which you apply for from the Swedish Tax Agency.