UCU’s UK president Rob Goodfellow was delighted to present the new Scotland branch organising award to Queen Margaret branch reps at UCU Scotland Congress on 31 March. Rob presented the award to Mari Giatsi Clausen, Fiona O’May and Jeremy Valentine, the QMU delegates at Congress. The QMU branch was rewarded for its significant efforts in recruiting new members, increasing membership density, the creative recruitment methods and in supporting and nurturing a diverse, representative and vibrant branch committee. The branch secured a recognition and procedure agreement in the past year and is a growing branch, recently reaching 100 members. The annual rate of joiners as a percentage of members is the highest of any branch in Scotland and the branch has instigated a “job share” role for its president position, which has worked well with Maria Giatsi Clausen and Oonagh O’Brien sharing the post. The branch have also had some imaginative recruitment and organising initiatives – including the recruitment postcards with photos of members with their reasons for joining, and the branch initiated International Women’s Day events. Longstanding QMU branch member Eurig Scandrett has been instrumental in building the branch and soon takes up his new post of UCU Scotland Vice President.
Union reps from UCU’s Aberdeen branch were part of a group of trade union reps meeting with the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP in the Scottish Parliament on 30 March 2017. UCU’s Mike McConnell and David Watts were representing the Aberdeen UCU branch committee which received the STUC’s Organising Reps Award at STUC Congress in 2016. The branch were nominated for the award due to the strong organising culture and structure which has been developed over the past few years, and has enabled the union branch to grow in strength, communication and organisation. The Aberdeen branch has faced challenges with redundancies over the past couple of years, but its engaged membership and democratic organising ethos has helped in their fight back.
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