Organising Award Winners Q&A: Tim King, National Lottery Community Fund
Individual Organising Award
First reaction and thoughts when you found out that you had won your award?
I had just come back from a week’s holiday in Bude… And thought to myself what a great start to my week.
I think I know who nominated me, so I sent her a copy of my certificate as well as one to my boss. My boss is a Prospect member too, so we have plenty of conversations about Union matters.
When we get back to the office, the certificate will have pride of place.
Was there any particular reason or incident that spurred you into action, or that made you think you could make a difference?
The funny thing is that I only became a rep as the previous rep nominated me without asking! Clearly, they were looking to “escape” the role.
When I realised what had happened, I thought why not give it a go? My dad was always a union man and he would have been proud.
On a personal level I like to air my views and have my say. Helping others in a time of need and making things better are also important to me.
I really believe that my union work improves things for my members as well as my employer. So, I do see it as a win:win all round.
In terms of your union activity, what are you most proud of in the last year?
I really enjoy my union work – I always have. It’s great using your creativity to promote union membership, being able to help people in a difficult position, and to be able to challenge senior players in the workplace when things aren’t right or aren’t good enough.
A bit more than a year ago I was involved in an employment tribunal. That was mega-interesting. It really didn’t reflect well on the employer how we ever got to that place, or that how my member was treated.
I wanted to ensure the employer was aware of this and to make things better for others. We won (of course) and the Prospect legal team and our barrister were great. I really hope everyone has learnt from that experience.
More recently pay negotiations have been quite tough, and our approach to them have had to change a lot. I`m really proud that despite some hard challenges we have more than held our own around the negotiating table.
Membership has continued to grow, and we currently have the highest numbers ever.
My involvement in PSSEC (Public services sector executive committee) – this is great background learning. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and volume of involvement Prospect’s head office have in all the important stuff like spending review, consultations, legal cases etc. They really do contribute and influence.
What help and support have you had?
We have a really supportive full-time officer and organiser and we work together very well. Our reps are a great team too. We have H+S, equalities, union learning and others. New reps are bringing in some great new ideas and energy to compliment those of us who have put the years in.
Our employer gives us suitable facility time and does take into account our views, so in that way we work together to improve the workplace.
As a branch, what sort of engagement have you had with your employer?
This has been more challenging over the last couple of years however, we do meet regularly and cover some good ground – albeit can be a bit uphill at times.
What’s your advice to other members or branches hoping to replicate your successes?
The product we are trying to “sell” (Prospect membership) is a fantastic product. Never be afraid to take every opportunity to talk about it and ensure you are clear about your own beliefs regarding union membership.
Take time to plan what you want to do. Be creative and scan the horizon of what is happening in your workplace.
Face to face contact with members is key. Make yourself and Prospect visible in the workplace(s). Biscuits, chocolate and Prospect promotional materials fit well together.
Build that relationship with your full-time officer and organiser. They like to help and can give you good ideas about what other branches do. Don’t be worried about shameless copying – I call it sharing and learning.
What are going to be some of your branch’s priorities over the next 12 months?
For us it will be: –
- Increasing membership
- Maintaining and increasing our influence and contribution to the employer
- Influencing discussions around equality, diversity and inclusion
- Managing a review of our recognition agreement
- Maintain our drive to improve pay negotiations
- Involvement in a review of various people policies
For you, personally, what’s the best thing about bring in Prospect?
Being able to make a positive difference in a number of different ways. Union work enables me to use a variety of skills and experience of make a difference.