Union & other news: Issue 4 - November 2023 | Accord Magazine

Elections for President and Principal Executive Council to be held in 2024

Early next year, elections will be held to choose a new Accord President and 17 members of the union’s Principal Executive Council (PEC). We’re currently inviting members to nominate themselves for election to these essential roles.

We really want to see a PEC that reflects the diversity of our members and can represent the views of those in different businesses. We welcome candidates from TSB, Schroders Personal Wealth, Sainsbury’s Bank, Communisis, Diligenta and all parts of Lloyds Banking Group, including Embark, Tusker and Scottish Widows. We would also particularly encourage members from ethnic minority backgrounds to put themselves forward, as well as members from other under-represented groups.

For information about what's involved in these roles, you can watch the video from Accord's General Secretary, Ged Nichols. Members are also welcome to contact Ged with any further questions about the roles or the electoral process.

In accordance with trade union laws, Mi-Voice (of Epsilon House, Enterprise Road, Southampton Science Park, Southampton, S016 7NS) has been appointed as the Independent Scrutineer of the vote. All the regulations which govern the elections are available on our website.

Nominations and voting

If you want to stand in the election, you need to self-nominate before 5pm on Friday 15 December 2023. You can do that at www.mi-nomination.com/accord

Self-nominated candidates will need to submit a CV and an election address (on forms provided by the union) by 5pm on Friday 19 January 2024. By the same date, they’ll also need to secure the support of at least 10 individual members, as set out in the regulations.

The elections will be held between 19 February and 19 March 2024. The successful candidates will take office from the end of the 2024 conference in April. Their period of office will run until the end of the biennial delegate conference in 2026.

Any queries about the roles, what's involved or about the election process should be referred to: [email protected].

Any technical difficulties with the Mi-Voice election site should be referred to: [email protected]

Complete a self-nomination

Glasgow to host Accord’s 2024 conference

Accord’s next biennial conference will take place in Glasgow. The event will run from 17-19 April 2024 at the Hilton hotel. Around 150 reps, PEC members and Accord staff will attend, and we’ll also welcome guest speakers from Lloyds Banking Group, TSB and the wider trade union movement.

The conference is the most important event in the union’s calendar. It’s where, through a democratic process, we review our progress over the last two years and set the union’s agenda for the next two. Workplaces around the country submit motions to conference, which are then debated and voted on by delegates.

It’s not just reps that can get involved. All members can have a say by putting forward motions for debate, and we’ll publish more details on how and when you can submit soon. Typically, motions are submitted by groups of members, either in branches or departmental teams. They can seek to change or improve members’ working lives, or the priorities and operation of the union. For example, you might consider submitting motions around reward, dignity at work or security of employment.

Conference 2024 will also mark the end of the term of our current President, Neil Magill, and the Principal Executive Council (PEC) members who were elected in 2022.

The new President and PEC team who are elected through the process set out above will take office at the end of conference. They’ll then be responsible for ensuring that the policy objectives set by delegates are pursued through to 2026.

We look forward to seeing many of you in Glasgow and to receiving your motions. If you want to know more about conference, you can contact [email protected] or watch the highlights video from conference 2022 below.

Stopping third-party harassment in service industries

Last month, Tesco announced that it would be offering body-worn cameras to its frontline workers, amid a spike in verbal and physical attacks. And earlier this month, 88 British retail leaders wrote to (then) Home Secretary Suella Braverman demanding more action on retail crime, as the British Retail Consortium reported that incidents of violence and abuse towards its workers has almost doubled compared with pre-pandemic levels.

This has sparked renewed discussion of the problem of ‘third-party harassment’ in public-facing industries, which refers to abuse, violence or harassment perpetrated by customers, clients, patients, parents, or other members of the public that workers might encounter while performing their roles.

Protection from these kinds of harassment is a major concern for many banking staff and it’s an issue that employers must take seriously. While the vast majority of bank customers are reasonable and respectful, we do hear reports of customers behaving abusively, and of staff being exposed to violence, threatening behaviour and crime. There is also concern that this kind of harassment has increased in recent years, in the context of the Covid regulations, reduced staffing levels and branch closures.

Lloyds, Accord and Unite the Union have developed and signed a joint commitment to keep staff feeling safe and protected. But tackling the problem depends on colleagues reporting violence and harassment whenever they occur, so that we understand the true scale of the problem and can act appropriately.

International approaches

In the last two years, UNI Europa – the European trade union federation for service workers – has been engaged in a cross-sector social dialogue project on ending violence in the world of work. One of its three major strategic priorities was third party harassment, and it has also looked closely at abuse and harassment towards telecommunications workers, particularly in the context of many phone-based roles now being performed from home.

The good news is that UNI Europa found lots of good practice in the banking and finance sectors, with unions negotiating strong agreements at global, national and company levels that protect workers from harassment. But they have also named steps that should be taken across the banking and finance sectors, including the development of simple and effective reporting processes and specific training for staff, managers and union reps on how to respond to violence and harassment.

Improvement to LBG’s eye care offering

A couple of months ago Emma Penney, a branch-based Accord member, contacted the union about something that had really niggled her. She’d been refused a £50 eyecare voucher for her varifocal lenses because her prescription exceeded -1/+1. She was told the cap was in line Lloyds Banking Group’s legal obligations. 

Says Emma: “I didn’t understand why there was a prescription limit - surely health and safety applies to everyone regardless of their prescription strength? I felt like I was being discriminated against for having poor eyesight.”

Emma pointed out that her role had changed significantly over the years, now being expected to view a tablet at VDU distance, hold a conversation with the customer and also be able to safely walk around the banking hall. The days when she could sit at a desk focusing on a screen were long gone. It felt unfair to her – and Accord agreed – that LBG was imposing the limit.

Accord’s Assistant General Secretary, Paula Tegg, put forward the argument to the Group’s Health and Safety team and as a result, the varifocals limit of -1/+1 has now been removed.

Says Paula:

Thanks to Emma and the strength of Accord’s collective voice we were able to negotiate an improvement to the offering and make a difference for many colleagues. There are so many big issues we’re tacking at the moment, that we sometimes forget the small things we manage to sort out for members.

Says Emma: