The healthy branch

Central to the role of the representative is maintaining a healthy branch. To be a good NATFHE representative you need to have an idea of what a healthy branch looks like.

There is no formula for the perfect branch. Different branches will have success with different things. But if you can tick most of the boxes in each section of the list below you can be fairly confident that you are on your way to a healthy branch.

• High level of union membership
• Members know who their department reps and branch officers are
• Members make decisions about branch activity including negotiations
• Members know what issues the local NATFHE branch is pursuing
• Members get involved in organising branch activity
• Members’ meetings are always well attended
• If a rep gave up their post there would be plenty of other volunteers to take the job on
• People regularly talk about the union in work and social settings
• Members strongly recommend non-members to join NATFHE

• Active branch committee with representatives from all departments
• The branch is involved in positive activities not just individual problems
• The committee involves members in decision making
• Reps know where non-members are and why they are not in NATFHE
• All reps and a number of members have been on union training courses
• The committee communicates regularly with the membership in a range of different ways including individual conversations with department reps, members’ meetings and newsletters

• Reps have an ongoing recruitment plan
• Union reps always have a slot at staff inductions
• Relationship with management
• Workplace representatives and branch officers have an equal working relationship with management that includes regular meetings
• Management keeps the union informed about what’s going on

• Members have confidence in consultation, grievance and disciplinary procedures
• You have good facilities from management for carrying out NATFHE business
• Relationship with rest of the union
• Regional official is rarely needed for recruitment and representation
• Regional official works with branch to plan and manage union activity
• Branch sends delegates to regional council
• Branch actively supports NATFHE national initiatives

This list may seem daunting to some activists. But don’t despair. Few branches can tick all the boxes and those who can have worked at it over a period of time.

If there are gaps in the list for your branch then reading the section on building and maintaining a healthy branch will be particularly important for you. You may have to focus on these areas before you concentrate too heavily on individual and collective representation.

If you do have areas to work on, try to avoid viewing it as a hit list of things to achieve. Many of the points in the list are indicators of branch strength - and not ends in themselves. For example it will be counter productive, and probably frustratingly futile, to encourage people to talk about the union in social settings or attend branch meetings if they don’t see the need or relevance of this. It’s better to try to identify areas of work to focus on.

If people are not talking about the union or attending meetings it may mean that members don’t know the issues that the union is pursuing or don’t feel involved in decision-making or maybe simply that you do not have high enough membership levels. All these point to a need to work on increasing membership levels, education and participation.

Similarly you will have to pick areas to concentrate on first. You can’t do everything at once. Broadly speaking you should work first on areas closer to the top of the list. For example developing an active membership first will make it much easier to get an active committee. It will be difficult to build an equal relationship with management if you haven’t been recruiting and don’t have an active committee. And achieving gains in your facilities will be easier if you have a good relationship with management.

NATFHE toolkits provide advice for branches and links to other sources of information. Anyone seeking specific advice in respect of the issues covered by this toolkit should consult their branch officers in the first instance, who in turn may need to take advice from NATFHE regional officials. Important time limits often apply; for further information about these or if you are seeking to pursue a legal claim on the issues covered in this toolkit, you should not rely on the toolkit alone but should seek additional advice from the union.