Shop steward elections - how to elect a shop steward

When there are at least three Pro members working in the workplace, they elect a full and a deputy shop steward from among themselves. Where the nature of the individual workplace, the number of staff and the possibility of the shop steward meeting staff members require more than one shop steward to be elected, the choice may be agreed locally with the employer.

Shop stewards shall also be elected in undertakings or establishments where the employer is not a member of an employers' association.

In a workplace where there are several types of staff and where there are clearly defined functional units, employees are normally entitled to elect a departmental shop steward for such a department. You should check the collective agreement for your contract sector for any provisions on this.
 

The election of shop stewards takes place in November at the latest. The Pro board recommends that shop stewards are elected for a three-year term of office at a time. The term of office of elected shop stewards starts at the beginning of the year.

The election of shop stewards is organised by the shop steward, the deputy shop steward, the departmental shop stewards and, if necessary, other designated persons who form an election committee. In workplaces where there is no existing shop steward, the election shall be organised by an election committee elected by the organised staff from among themselves. The election committee shall be responsible for conducting the election in good time. The election committee shall draw up minutes of the election, which shall be forwarded to the association or works committee of which the elected shop steward is a member.

Under the collective agreement, the election of a shop steward and a divisional shop steward may take place at the workplace. Staff members entitled to vote must be informed of the date and place of the election at least 14 days before the election. The notification may be made either by personal invitation or on a notice board.
 

All members of the workplace who are affiliated to the Trade Union Pro have the right to vote in the election of shop stewards. The right to vote in a sectional shop steward election is reserved to the members of the union in the area concerned.

Any member of the trade union staff who has been an employee of the trade union federation for at least one year may be elected as a shop steward or section shop steward. If the undertaking concerned has not been in operation for one year, a member of staff who has been employed by the undertaking for a shorter period may be elected as a shop steward.

The selection of shop stewards should take into account the broadest possible coverage of the different occupational groups.

If a candidate selection procedure is used, the following procedure should be followed: the names of the candidates and their consent must be communicated to the election committee in writing by the agreed deadline. At the same time as announcing the time and place of the election, the Election Committee must also indicate the date by which the formal nomination of candidates must be completed. A period of at least seven days shall be allowed for the nomination of candidates. If the time and place of the election have been announced earlier than 14 days before the election, the official nomination of candidates shall still end seven days before the election.

Candidates notified after this date shall not be included on the list of candidates adopted by the Electoral Commission. The list of candidates must indicate for which position of trustee the candidate is standing. If only one candidate for each position has been nominated by the deadline, the Election Committee shall confirm this choice. No other election procedure shall be followed in this respect. If there are more candidates than persons to be elected, an election shall be held. The same procedure may be followed in cases where there are not a sufficient number of candidates for a particular office. In the election, persons other than those nominated may also vote.

The election of a shop steward shall be conducted in such a way that all organised employees in the workplace who are entitled to vote have the opportunity to participate in the election. To this end, elections may have to be held over one or more days. Postal voting may also be an option in cases where not all those entitled to vote would otherwise have the opportunity to participate in the election of a shop steward. In such cases, however, voting must take place within a predetermined period.
 

The organisers of the election of a shop steward must notify the result of the election electronically by means of a form. You will receive an acknowledgement when the transmission has been successfully received. The elected shop steward represents his/her association in the workplace with regard to industrial peace, and the association is responsible for the shop stewards' activities in this respect.

The union signs the steward notification it receives and returns the employer's copy to the elected steward. The steward must then forward the declaration received to the employer's representative. At the same time, the shop steward may request the employer to provide a contractual confirmation/written notification of who will act as his/her counter-negotiator under the terms of the shop stewardship agreement. The shop steward must inform the employer of the appointment of a substitute shop steward in cases where the shop steward is prevented from performing his/her duties as a shop steward. If the trustee has not had the opportunity to give this notification, the deputy trustee must inform the employer.