Regional council

Regional Council is our quarterly meeting at which delegates from branches across the region meet and debate regional policy.

All branches are entitled to send a minimum of 3 delegates with an additional seat available per 1000 members. If you think that your branch isn't sending a full delegation why don't you speak to your branch secretary about coming along to these meetings? Detailed information is now available explaining the role of Regional Council delegates and other regional positions.

We recognise that for small braches, the costs of sending a delegate (or three) can be a burden. Therefore branches with up to 500 members can currently apply for financial assistance to meet the expenses of delegates attending. This is subject to review so please check with us before making any commitments.

Meetings are usually held in a modern purpose built conference centre in the centre of Birmingham. Meetings vary between weekdays and Saturdays. When we meet at the weekend a crèche is provided free of charge, and refreshments are available.

New delegates are always made welcome – please make yourself known to a member of staff who will be happy to show you the ropes. If delegates have any special requirements then please notify us in advance so that we can make sure they are met, but of course all of our venues are fully accessible.

The majority of delegates now receive their meeting documents electronically and they can be viewed on our regional website. If you are a delegate that doesn't receive documents electronically please give us your email address so that we can do our bit to save the environment. By the end of 2008 we intend to distribute all information electronically.

As a result of all of these measures, attendance at Regional Council has risen for the second year running, with 2007 seeing a 6% increase in the number of delegates attending.

Regional Council has welcomed a variety of speakers during the year and these include: -

Malcolm Cantello - UNISON President 2006/2007
Nick Lowles - Searchlight
Steve Tasker - Director of Finance, Gerry Gallagher - Vice President of UNISON and Deborah Alexander, Legal Officer, to discuss the consequences of Equal Pay

Regional Council delegates have debated many issues during 2007 with an emphasis on some of the main issues faced by UNISON nationally, particularly Single Status, Local Government Pensions/Pay and NHS pay. All motions passed at Regional Council during the year can be found on our website at: http://www.unison.org.uk/westmidlands/regionalcouncil.asp