Campaign fund ballot Q&A

Q: When is the ballot taking place?

A: The ballot of all members is being held from 22 January to 16 February. There are clear legal requirements that the union has to meet. For example, the rules for both the ballot and fund have been approved by the Certification Officer and your National Executive Committee. Civica Election Services will administer the ballot for the union – they are the independent scrutineers required by law.

Voting papers in the ballot include a list of ‘political objects’ for the fund and all the wording on the ballot paper is required by law. Political objects are activities which can only be financed from the political fund. All unions with political funds are legally obliged to adopt the statutory set of objects listed by law. Community therefore has to include these objects on the voting paper. The Certification Officer says it is not possible to omit any of the objects listed by law.

Please don’t be put off by all the legal language, to ensure we can keep campaigning on the issues that matter to you please vote YES and post your ballot paper to be received by noon on the 16th February.

Q: Who can vote in this ballot?

A: All members of the Union will receive a postal ballot. For members where no address has been supplied, the Union will try other methods to contact members to find out where to receive their postal ballot.

Q: How do I vote?

A: The ballot paper will have one question on it and if you want to make sure Community can continue to campaign for you at work, put an X in the YES box, and return the ballot paper in the pre-addressed envelope to be received by noon on the 16th February.

Q: What if my ballot paper doesn’t arrive?

A: If your ballot paper does not arrive by the 29th January, please contact support@cesvotes.com with your membership number to request a replacement ballot.

Q: What will the ballot paper look like?

A: Unfortunately the wording of the ballot question is confusing to understand but it is set out in law and cannot be changed.

To help make things easier, we’ve included a picture of the ballot paper below. Please note this is not the actual ballot, it is just a picture but we just wanted to make sure you knew what to expect.

Q: If I vote yes does it mean I have to pay more?

A: No, absolutely not. Each member has the right to opt out of paying into the Political Fund whenever you want. A yes vote means that your union keeps its campaign fund and you keep the right to choose whether you pay into the campaign fund.

Q: If I don’t want to contribute to the campaign fund, why should I vote yes?

A: Voting yes means that those members who want to pay into the campaign fund can continue to do so. Every Community member, whether they contribute to the campaign fund or not, has a vote on whether to keep the campaign fund and a strong campaigning voice for members.

If you don’t want to contribute to the fund you don’t have to and can opt out at any time. New members do not automatically contribute to the fund – they have to make the active decision to join in. All members can choose whether to opt-in to the fund as it stands but without the political campaign fund we wouldn’t be able to deliver on our key campaigns at all.

If you have any questions about the ballot, please contact us at politics@community-tu.org or on 0800 389 6332.