- Conference
- 2011 Energy Service Group Conference
- Date
- 25 February 2011
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that four of the big six Energy Companies in the UK are owned by overseas European based multi- nationals. Each of these four companies either already have, or are eligible for, a European Works Council (EWC).
Recognising that UNISON has a significant membership base in all the UK’s energy companies it is important that those members are fairly represented on the EWCs. Conference notes that in most cases the UK representatives and substitutes on EWCs are elected from all eligible employees in the UK and not just TU members. As part of the election process any employee can be nominated for a vacancy as can any TU member. This situation can lead to unhelpful competition between TUs for a limited number of seats and sometimes this leads to either the election of non TU representatives or the dominance of one TU at the expense of another, as happened recently with EDF.
Conference believes that UNISON should always aim to secure a fair level of representation of its members on EWCs and to that end Conference agrees that:
i) Wherever possible a slate of preferred candidates for EWC representatives and substitutes should be agreed by the TUs involved.
ii) Where agreement with other TUs on candidates proves to be impossible then every effort should be made to maximize the votes for the UNISON candidates among both members and non-members.
iii) Branches with members eligible to stand should ensure that relevant communications are circulated to all members in a timely fashion.
iv) Elections should be coordinated in liaison with the relevant UNISON regional officer.