ABOUT GMB
Although it is your day to day union work within your workplace that will have most impact on your members' lives, you and your members are part of a trade union with over 600,000 members covering most of private industry and the public services.
GMB is part of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) which has almost eight million members. Locally your GMB branch may belong to a Trades Union Council linking several unions in your town. Internationally GMB is committed to making our members' terms and conditions of employment the best in Europe.
We support the European TUC and lobby the European Commission and the European Parliament through our own GMB Brussels office. As an active member of GMB you have an important part to play in influencing the policy of the union and the TUC.
GMB is also linked locally regionally and nationally with the Labour Party. The union encourages its members to support Labour, including by becoming individual members of the Party. Your GMB officer can help you join your local Constituency Labour Party or become more active in it.
GMB ORGANISATION
ORGANISING LOCALLY - GMB BRANCHES
Your first point of contact with the wider union is as part of your GMB branch. Depending on the size and type of your workplace the branch may cover just workers where you work or it may include employees in other workplaces.The key official of your branch is the Branch Secretary. It is important for you as a GMB workplace representative and active member of GMB to have a close working relationship with your Branch Secretary.
It is also important that you attend your branch meetings where information can be passed to you and you have the opportunity to participate in GMB's democratic decision making.
ORGANISING REGIONALLY-GMB REGION
Your branch belongs to one of nine GMB Regions. Each Region is headed by a Regional Secretary who is responsible to a Regional Committee of elected lay members (i.e. people like you not employed by GMB) which meets regularly to oversee the work of the union in your part of the country and a larger Regional Council also of elected representatives which normally meets twice a year.
ORGANISING NATIONALLY-GMB CONGRESS
GMB holds a Congress every year to decide union policy and it is through your branch that you can contribute by submitting motions to that Congress. This is the body that ultimately makes all the decisions in the union.
When Congress is not meeting the Central Executive Council, lay representatives elected from each GMB Region meet to carry on the business of the union.
ORGANISING IN YOUR SECTOR-GMB SECTIONS
As well as being part of a Region and branch structure you and your members belong to one of three industrial Sections of the union, each headed by a National Secretary based at GMB National Office.
The three sections are:
- Commercial Services
- Manufacturing
- Public Services
The National Secretary for the section and any National Officers in that section report regularly to a Section National Committee ofelected lay representatives who oversee the work of their section. In your Region a Senior GMB official will be responsible for organising work in your section.
Each Section holds conferences to make sure members of the union in related industries set the unions' policy in that section. At some point you will probably have the opportunity to attend such a conference, but even if you are not attending personally you have the right to send motions on any issue affecting your industry through your branch.
GMB also has regional and national structures specifically to promote equal rights inside and outside the union, combat racial discrimination, tackle discrimination against people with disabilities and to encourage young members to take part in union activities.
NATIONAL ORGANISING DEPARTMENT AND TEAM |
|
| National Organiser | Martin Smith |
| Lead Organiser Training | Avril Chambers |
| Lead Organiser Schools | Avril Chambers |
| Lead Organiser ASDA | Keith Williams |
| Lead Organiser Southern Cross | Paul Clarke |
| Organising Research | Eamon O'Hearn Large |
| Lead Organiser Security | Bob Crosby |
| Support Services | Marian Healy |
The Department is guided by the Regions collectively who send delegates to the National OrganisingTeam (NOT) accountable to and on behalf of their regions.
| National Organising Team members | |
| Birmingham & West Midlands Region | Martin Hird |
| London Region | Shaun Graham |
| Midland & East Coast Region | Martin Allen |
| Northern Region | Billy Coates |
| North West & Irish Region | Karen Lewis |
| GMB Scotland | Mick Conroy |
| Southern Region | Paul Maloney |
| South Western Region | John Phillips |
| Yorkshire & North Derbyshire Region | Neil Derrick |
The role of the NOT member in each Region is to consult officers and staff on the National strategy and targets, help implement Organising Policy and Strategy and inform colleagues ofprogress and new developments.
The national organising strategy, GMB@Work Special Report to Congress can be found on the GMB website www.gmb.org.uk
National Organising Department contact details
369 Burnt Oak Broadway
Edgware
HAS 5AW
Tel: 0208 952 3000
Fax: 0208 952 3004