ANNEX II (continued)
Letter from the General Secretary, Retained Firefighters
Union to the Clerk of the Committee
(i) Re-authorisation Requirement
We do not have precise figures for the proportion of the 3% of
members who failed to re-authorise their subscriptions who subsequently
rejoined the RFU.
Unfortunately, our internal renewal procedure needs overhauling,
and there is a very considerable workload involved. One of the
problems under the current procedure is that we cannot always
be sure the reason for non-renewal is due to omission by the member
concerned.
There can be other reasons for us not receiving subscriptions
from members at the time of re-authorisaion, such as the member
having ceased employment, or some temporary suspension of pay,
due, say to sickness absence.
We are putting in a better renewal procedure, but this all costs
us money in terms of administration and postage, much of which
would not be necessary if the re-authorisation procedure ceased.
What I can say however, is that the RFU too has had some distressing
cases of members "falling out" of union benefits, and
only realising this when they contact us for help. I have had
a recent instance of somebody needing our help after an accident
on duty, only to find they were no longer a member.
This puts me in a dilemma, for if I provide support I could be
accused of contravening union rules and this could also lead to
more members demanding similar treatment if their membership had
lapsed for some reason.
(ii) Notification of Increases in Deductions
The RFU is required to obtain approval for subscription increases
from its Annual Conference, following which a "Conference
Report" is sent to all members including details of any subscription
increase.
29 January 1998
Letter from the Clerk of the Committee
to the General Secretary, National Federation of SubPostmasters
The Deregulation Committee has begun its consideration of the
Deregulation (Deduction from Pay of Union Subscriptions) Order
1998.
One suggestion that was made in the course of the consultation
process was that the requirement for re-authorisations every three
years prevented workers continuing to pay union subscriptions
unwittingly since they would regularly be put in a position of
deciding whether they wanted to continue paying their union subscriptions
by check off or at all. However, the point was also made by UNISON
that the re-authorisation process had lead to numbers of workers
inadvertently falling out of union membership because they failed
to return their re-authorisation before the expiry of the authorisation
if at all.
You noted in your response to the consultation document that in
the course of your 1994
exercise of re-authorisations, many of your members did not appreciate
the significance of the process. You also noted that during the
1997 re-authorisation exercise, numbers of your members questioned
the need to give another authorisation. The Committee would be
interested to know whether the National Federation of SubPostmasters
experienced a drop in membership during 1994 or 1997 as a result
of the re-authorisation process, and what proportion of those
who failed to re-authorise subsequently re-joined the union.
15 January 1998
Letter from the General Secretary,
National Federation of SubPostmasters to the Clerk of the Committee
You ask specifically about membership loss that could be directly
attributed to the re-authorisation process. It is impossible
to be entirely accurate with such figures because of the nature
of our industry which will typically see an annual turnover of
8-10% of all Sub Postmasters. Additionally the re-authorisation
exercise is, in reality, spread over several months, therefore
taking these two factors together it would be unreliable to pick
precise start and end dates. It is however possible to judge
the affect of the re-authorisation process if we look at membership
over the entire four year period of 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997:
| 1994 | Re-authorisation required
| approximately 5%membership loss |
| 1995 | No Re-authorisation required
| approximately 1.25%membership loss |
| 1996 | No Re-authorisation required
| approximately 1%membership loss |
| 1997 | Re-authorisation required
| approximately 5%membership loss |
It can be seen that there was significant increase in the rate
of loss during the two re-authorisation years. Additionally,
the figures being based on whole years take into account those
members who did not initially re-authorise but did so after the
official end of the re-authorisation exercise. However, speaking
broadly, our membership loss in the re-authorisation years was
approximately 1000 members at its worst, by the year end this
had been reduced to approximately 750. This pattern was followed
in both 1994 and 1997. It should however be recognised that the
limited recovery achieved required considerable extra effort and
resources beyond that which was already allocated for re-authorisation
and as a result had an impact on the service we could offer our
members. It is worth noting that the extra effort revolved around
educational matters, not about the role or the worth of the Federation,
but about the principle of having to rejoin an organisation that
the member had already joined voluntarily and from which they
had expressed no desire to resign. As a concept it proved to
be completely alien to a significant number of our members.
21 January 1998
Letter from the Clerk of the Committee
to the Chairman, Guinness Brewing Staff Association (GBSA)
The Deregulation Committee has begun its consideration of the
Deregulation (Deduction from Pay of Union Subscriptions) Order
1998.
Concerns were raised at the Committee's meeting on 13 January
regarding the provision to remove the requirement for employers
to notify workers who used check off of increases in deductions.
It was suggested that, as a result, there would be numbers of
workers who were not informed in advance that deductions from
their pay for union subscriptions were being increased. The Committee
would like to know whether requirements exist for the Guinness
Brewing Staff Association to notify its own members of increases
in subscriptions, and if so, how such notifications are carried
out.
16 January 1997
Letter from the Chairman of the Guinness
Brewing Staff Association (GBSA) to the Clerk of the Committee
I can confirm that the following arrangements are made for Staff
Association's members to be advised of increases in subscriptions.
Constitutionally, monthly subscriptions are reviewed annually
by the Executive Committee, with any increase not to exceed the
average rate of inflation over the previous financial year ended
31 December. (Increases above this level must be referred to
the membership for approval.) At the Association's Annual General
Meeting in March, the Treasurer's Report is presented, which includes
details of the increase in subscriptions which shall apply from
the next following April. All members of the Staff Association
are circulated with a copy of both the Treasurer's Report and
the Chairman's Report (together with the Report & Accounts)
immediately following the AGM (second Thursday in March ) and
in advance of any increased deduction being made at the end of
April. The two Reports are accompanied by a copy of the Association's
Bulletin/newsletter, and an increase in subscriptions is specifically
mentioned.
20 January 1998
Letter from the Clerk of the Committee
to the General Secretary of the Commercial Union Group Staff Association
(CUGSA)
The Deregulation Committee has begun its consideration of the
Deregulation (Deduction from Pay of Union Subscriptions) Order
1998.
Concerns were raised at the Committee's meeting on 13 January
regarding the provision to remove the requirement for employers
to notify workers who used check off of increases in deductions.
It was suggested that, as a result, there would be numbers of
workers who were not informed in advance that deductions from
their pay for union subscriptions were being increased. The Committee
would like to know whether requirements exist for the Commercial
Union Group Staff Association to notify its own members of increases
in subscriptions, and if so, how such notifications are carried
out.
16 January 1998
Letter from the General Secretary
of the Commercial Union Group Staff Association (CUGSA) to the
Clerk of the Committee
In the case of my own Union we notify each of our Members of any
increase in subscriptions at least 2 months before it is applied
(though in practice we have not increased subscriptions for 6
years).
We do this by way of an article in our Newsletter a copy of which
is given to every Member.
This is the method we use for notification of all Rules changes
and works entirely satisfactorily insofar as we have never had
a single complaint.
20 January 1998
Letter from the Clerk of the Committee
to the General Secretary of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical
Union (AEEU)
The Deregulation Committee has begun its consideration of the
Deregulation (Deduction from Pay of Union Subscriptions) Order
1998.
(i) Re-authorisation Requirement
One suggestion that was made in the course of the consultation
process was that the requirement for re-authorisations every three
years prevented workers continuing to pay union subscriptions
unwittingly since they would regularly be put in a position of
deciding whether they wanted to continue paying their union subscriptions
by check off if at all. However, the point was also made by UNISON
that the re-authorisation process had lead to numbers of workers
inadvertently falling out of union membership because they failed
to return their re-authorisation before the expiry of the authorisation
if at all.
You noted in your response to the consultation document that the
re-authorisation process proved to be a significant burden on
numbers of your members, particularly those with literacy or language
difficulties. The Committee wish to know whether you suffered
a drop in membership as a result of the re-authorisation processes
which were carried out, and if so, what proportion of individuals
who dropped out of union membership subsequently re-joined.
(ii) Notification of Increases in Deductions
Concerns were raised at the Committee's meeting on 13 January
regarding the provision to remove the requirement for employers
to notify workers who used check off of increases in deductions.
It was suggested that, as a result, there would be numbers of
workers who were not informed in advance that deductions from
their pay for union subscriptions were being increased. The Committee
would like to know whether the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical
Union is required to notify its members of increases in subscriptions,
and how such notifications are carried out.
16 January 1998
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