F-6 Recognizing the Work of Stewards

Whereas the employer usually does not recognize union work when they hand out workplace awards; and

Whereas many deserving Stewards are not being recognized for the work they do on behalf of the members and PIPSC; and

Whereas the Steward of the Year awards are given out on a geographical basis by Region, with no regard to the numbers of Stewards in a particular Region (specifically, that the NCR can only ever have one Steward of the Year, despite having a much larger population of Stewards compared to some other Regions); and

Whereas many Stewards are engaged in some of the most difficult union-related tasks, such as bargaining with the employer, and receive little or no formal recognition from PIPSC because much of
their effort is expended in Groups, Sub-Groups, Consultations and in various Committees, rather than in Branches and Regions; and

Whereas there is little consistency from year to year in the awarding of small gifts of appreciation to those who do win the awards available through PIPSC; and

Whereas it isn’t clear what awards or gestures of thanks are being given out locally by constituent bodies that vary greatly in size and budget; and

Whereas the submissions of names and justifications for awards are often difficult to obtain from our busy Stewards; and

Whereas many long-serving and active Stewards often retire without any recognition or thoughtful gesture for their years of dedicated service to the members; and

Whereas constructive changes to the way awards are handled in PIPSC can be seen as a personal affront for some of those who have received our existing awards in the past;

Be it resolved that the PIPSC BOD seek members’ advice on how to improve the current method of recognizing the work our Stewards do, and that they propose a motion to the 2018 PIPSC AGM on any suggested changes.

Resolutions Sub-Committee Comments – Depending on the manner in which this resolution would be implemented, the cost could be up to $50K for a standard committee.