Prospect/Bectu Organising Award Winners 2021
Our annual Union Week is not just about getting workplaces to talk about the benefits of being in a trade union and recruiting new members. We also want to celebrate the fantastic work being done by our existing members, reps and branches.
Being a trade union member is about everyone working together and looking out for one another. Around the country we have thousands of branches, volunteers and reps doing this every day in their workplaces.
So, everyone plays their part, but the Organising Awards shines a spotlight on a handful of branches and individuals who have gone that extra mile over the last year.
In particular, we also wanted to highlight the amazing contributions being made through the pandemic.
Sam Gipson, Prospect Senior Organiser, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity to showcase, and show our appreciation of work that has gone above and beyond in these unprecedented times. We were looking for examples of innovation, different approaches and outstanding work in support of members.”
Here we reveal the winners of our 2021 awards and highlight some of the comments made by the Prospect/Bectu full-time officer who put forward each nomination.
Small branch winner: Whitechapel
Nominated by Naomi Taylor
Whitechapel Gallery is the oldest art gallery in London and many have tried and failed to unionise the gallery in that time… When the branch had reached their recruitment goal and Whitechapel declined to recognise Bectu, they applied to the CAC, which they easily won as they had membership across approximately 80% of the staff.
They have now been able to work collaboratively to elect reps and put the agreement together.
I don’t know if recognition has ever been won in a pandemic, but this was a true team effort that all the members at Whitechapel can be proud of. They built something from scratch that they can hand over to their future colleagues.
Medium branch winner: Wellcome Trust
Nominated by Pricina Benjamin
Before the pandemic, Wellcome Trust’s membership was in single figures, however during the pandemic, key individuals within Wellcome Trust made tremendous headway by significantly increasing membership, while working remotely.
With branch support, Wellcome Trust reps have been vital in signposting colleagues to information during Wellcome’s organisational design consultation process and pension consultation.
With the support of the branch and commitment from Wellcome Trust reps, we hope to be in a position to approach Wellcome management in the Autumn to gain union recognition.
Large branch joint winners: Archaeologists and National Trust
Archaeologists – nominated by Arron Baker
The Archaeological Branch has continued to support members and colleagues throughout the pandemic. Whether this has been for those continuing to work or those who have been furloughed, their impacts have included the production of a practical Health and Safety Guide for members working on sites during Covid that has been widely adopted.
The Branch has continued to grow during the pandemic meeting a milestone of over 1200 members in July 2021… has a clear plan on expanding its recognition in the sector with a number of companies identified and built into its Branch Development Plan.
The Branch has continued its work on EDI issues in the sector and contributed to the wider debates in the Heritage Sector and lobbying to Government.
National Trust – nominated by Chris Perry and Lisa Browne
For a large Branch, with members facing redundancy in the vulnerable heritage sector, and their employer in the national media spotlight, the committee performed exceptionally to:
- Negotiate a furlough agreement which protected salaries to 100% for almost the full duration of the pandemic. Strong branch intervention forced the Trust to include seasonal/zero hour contracted, predominately female staff in this.
- Increase membership by over 40% from Feb 2020 to August 2021.
- Maintain a strong core branch structure, holding regular online meetings to update reps on discussions with the employer.
- Provide positive intervention on pay talks to defer them from an April 2021 settlement date, to July 2021, to allow more time for Trust finances to recover. This action increased the pay offer made available to members significantly.
Individual award winner: Roy McGregor
Nominated by David Avery and Sarah Hughes
Roy McGregor has shown outstanding courage in an attempt to organise his workplace in the face of a challenging work environment.
His actions demonstrated the power of collective action and significantly changed the outcome for a colleague in incredibly difficult circumstances.
His tactics forced the employer to reinstate a terminally ill colleague who had been facing summary dismissal.
Roy advised and supported his colleagues through intensely difficult times and he remained dignified and professional at all times despite appalling treatment by his employer, which he has now left but remains a Prospect member.
The Individual awards also included Highly Commended citations for Poli Kyriacou (Costume and Wardrobe Branch (BECTU), Niall Watson Dounreay Branch), Gary O’Connor (DVSA Section of DfT Branch.
The Organising Awards were judged from a special panel of Prospect’s presidential team and CORE Advisory Committee.