Confessions of a union rep

24 July 2010

By Andy Humphrey

As there was such a good response to my “Confessions of a part-timer” blog post, I thought I’d follow it with a few words on my “other” job, the one that runs in parallel with the research one.

I have been a committed trade unionist all my working life, and currently have a role as a workplace rep for UCU, the academic and academic-related staff trade union. My main job as a union rep is personal case work, giving one-to-one support to union members with difficulties at work. Sometimes the role can be as simple as providing a listening ear and some practical advice. Often, though, the role is representational and involves me accompanying a member in meetings with their line manager or senior university staff.

The majority of people I support are academics (ranging from lecturers right up the scale to professors). However an increasing number of research staff contact UCU for advice and support over contractual issues such as termination of fixed-term contracts or applications to be made permanent. Other common reasons for members approaching UCU for support include bullying, workload, grievances, returns to work after sickness absence, and (occasionally) disciplinary matters. Equality issues also take up a significant chunk of time. Provisions such as flexible working arrangements or phased returns to work after illness need to be applied consistently across the university; if they are not, the adverse impact on women or staff protected by the Disability Discrimination Act can be significant. My university also has one of the most ethnically diverse staff populations in the UK, which gives UCU extra responsibility to be vigilant that equality of opportunity is maintained.

I’m something of an oddity in my UCU local association. Research staff on fixed-term contracts are not known for volunteering for official roles in the union. The majority of my fellow committee members are academic staff on permanent contracts.

Some of my past employers have been more supportive than others of my union role. I have been told more than once that employers might see my union involvement as a hindrance to career aspirations as an academic. In law, of course, it shouldn’t be. But there is a certain single-mindedness expected of the academic in waiting. Putting time and energy into supporting other colleagues could be interpreted, in a narrow-minded way, as time away from developing a reputation in research.

So is it worth it? Despite the cynics, I think so. The work I’ve been doing for UCU is also, in its way, valuable training – for aspiring academics, and a host of other vocations too.

Simply juggling the demands of the union role with those of my research has been an object lesson in project planning. Going into meetings on an equal footing with university senior managers was daunting at first, but has helped me develop negotiating and mediation skills which are going to be valuable whichever direction my career takes me from here. And I’m sure that picking my way through the complexities of university policies and employment contracts helps sharpen my skills for critical assessment of the scientific literature too!

Most importantly, the pastoral experience I get from one-to-one case work is something that will stand me in good stead for the future. It’s something I can easily class as professional, as well as personal, development. In my current research post I don’t do any teaching or mentoring; the limit of my “people skills” training has been the supervision of short-term project students for a few weeks of the year. Universities are not always good at training staff in teamwork or people management – as newly appointed academics often find to their cost when they find themselves managing research groups or acting as student mentors. Training and experience of trade union case work is a way to bridge that gap.

And, of course, there’s nothing like the satisfaction of successfully closing a personal case and knowing that you’ve made a difference to a colleague’s job and their wellbeing.