Here is the latest blog post from Mark:
My name is Mark Adcock. I am principally the UNISON rep for the libraries on campus, which means I work as a rep across five fully staffed sites though most of my work has been home based for the last 18 months. In addition to this am a Union Learning Rep which means I can help members identify and find funding for courses they want to study for their personal and professional development. In a wider branch role I am the treasurer which involves keeping track of how we spend our members’ money and keeping accurate accounts to be submitted at the end of each financial year; this role gets more complex each year and unfortunately comes with no statutory right to time off, so as a result the branch pay me what is called a “honorarium” each year for the amount of my own time it takes. I am the assistant-Chair of the branch meaning I stand in for our Chair Nick Allen where possible if he is unavailable; though thankfully that is quite rare. On top of my local roles I am elected to our Higher Education Service Group Executive which is the body which attempts to implement our annual conference decisions, decide on how to position ourselves politically and engages in negotiations with the employers in national pay bargaining discussions. I do hold accreditation to be a health and safety representative as well but with my other roles I felt it necessary to hand this on to a library colleague.
