Members eligible to stand for election to these posts
must be full members as defined in rule C2.3. Retired members may only stand
for office and vote for positions in the Branch Retired Members Organisation
except where the NEC has ruled otherwise. Members standing for a post of
Branch APF Officer must be eligible within the rules of the Affiliated
Political Fund and only APF levy payers will be entitled to vote for that
position.
The Branch or Region must appoint a Returning Officer at
least two months before the election. The Returning Officer will be
ineligible to be a candidate. The Returning Officer shall also carry out the
functions of Scrutineer. She/he shall be responsible for the distribution of
voting papers, the counting of votes and for their subsequent storage for a
minimum period of six months.
Nomination forms will be available from the Branch and/or
the Regional Office depending on which is conducting the ballot. A timetable
for the nomination period and the availability of nomination forms will be
published to members by the Returning Officer.
Any nominations must be made on the form available and
will only be accepted as valid if signed by two full members of the Branch,
who are eligible to vote in the election, neither of whom is the nominee,
and signed by the nominee as an indication of acceptance of nomination.
Completed nomination forms must be returned to the Returning Officer by the
date specified in the timetable.
The Returning Officer will confirm to the candidate
within one week of close of nominations that the nomination has been
received, and confirm the eligibility to stand for the election or otherwise
of the candidate. The candidate must subsequently confirm by the date
specified in the timetable if she/he wishes to withdraw from the election.
Any member or nominee who wishes to appeal against a ruling of ineligibility
shall set out the grounds for the appeal in writing to the Returning Officer
who will make a final decision within one week of receipt of the appeal. In
accordance with the procedures agreed before the nomination period opens as
published in the timetable.
All candidates will be given the opportunity of preparing
an election address. Such an election address must not be more than 250
words in total and shall not include photographs or other matters not in
words. The election address must be received by the specified time and must
be no longer than the word limit. If the election address is longer than the
approved word limit, the printed election address will be curtailed when the
word limit is reached. Linked initials, e.g. TUC will be regarded as a
single word.
Candidates are reminded that, as members of UNISON, they
agree to abide by the Aims and Objectives of the union, defined in UNISON
rules which can only be changed by UNISON’s National Delegate Conference.
The NEC therefore believe that there is an obligation for election addresses
not to contain material which is contrary to UNISON’s Aims and Objectives as
set out in Rule B, particularly the rights of all members to be treated with
dignity irrespective of race, gender, sexuality, disability, age or creed.
A copy of each candidate’s election address will be
distributed with the ballot paper.
A notification to members advising how the ballot will be
conducted will be published with the nomination form. It will include a
statement of the union’s commitment to achieve fair representation and
proportionality in the particular election. There will also be a
recommendation of the minimum number of women post holders requested to
achieve proportionality in the election and a similar recommendation
concerning fair representation in line with the Branch’s action plan to
achieve fair representation and proportionality.
The statement and recommendations will accompany the
ballot paper.
The candidate’s election statement can be the only
material circulated on behalf of the candidate during the ballot period.
UNISON funds, facilities and resources cannot be used to
support campaigning for any nominations, nor to support campaigning for any
candidate. Staff, including branch employed staff, cannot assist any
candidate in their campaign.
Any group of members which invites a candidate to a
meeting must extend an invitation to all other candidates standing for the
post or a representative appointed by the candidate.
A help line will be established for members who have not
received a ballot paper two weeks prior to the closing date to contact. The
Returning Officer shall decide whether to issue a ballot paper to members
who contact the help line.
The Returning Officer will reproduce all election
addresses in a uniform style.
The election register will comprise those full members
included in the UNISON Membership Record as at the date one month before the
intended date on which ballot papers are to be despatched. Ballot papers
will be distributed to the members' home address, except where the member
has indicated in writing an alternative address to be used as her/his home
address. It will be accompanied by a prepaid envelope for the purpose of
posting completed ballot papers to the Returning Officer.
Candidates or supporters cannot have access to the
Electoral Register. This means that Branch or Workplace registers of members
cannot be used by candidates for election purposes. The Register may only be
used in respect of the official distribution of ballot papers as any other
use would not be permitted under the Data Protection Act.
Candidates are reminded that breach of these procedures
may result in the candidate concerned being disqualified and/or subject to a
disciplinary enquiry.
Any complaints by, or on behalf of, a candidate in
respect of an alleged breach of these procedures or concerning the conduct
or fairness of the election must be made in writing to the Returning Officer
within a week of the close of the ballot.
The Returning Officer shall determine the validity of any
complaint made about the conduct of the election and shall have the right to
require that an election be held again and/or disqualify a candidate.
The result of the election will be published on the date
given in the published timetable.
