Join BAWON’s large network of people across Namibia who tackle problems at work and improve conditions for themselves and their colleagues through their BAWON branch.

• Help your BAWON branch
• Take on an official role as a rep or steward
• Mentor or buddy new BAWON activists
• Key documents and tools for activists 

Help your BAWON branch

Every member of BAWON belongs to a branch. Why not get active by going along to a branch event to meet other BAWON members and find out what the branch is doing? You’ll be made very welcome and it’s a great chance to find out more about what the union is doing for you.

Branches are the basic unit of the union, they are made up of groups of members working for the same employer or several employers in the same area. Within each branch there are members with established democratically elected positions, as well as many members who help out in an informal way.

Why get active in your branch

Getting involved in your branch offers a chance for you to influence the decisions of the branch – and in turn make a difference in your workplace.

Volunteering brings personal benefits too:

• you can get free training and learning opportunities – and time off work while you learn;
• you gain valuable experience in new areas;
• you can create a better workplace and better public services;
• it looks good on your CV.

How to get active

If you want to help out, why not offer to lend a hand from time to time? What you do depends on how much time you have. You might be able to help get the room ready for a meeting, hand out information or put up posters advertising branch meetings. Just speak to your steward. Whether it’s a particular campaign that interests you, or a group, or just being part of the everyday running of the union, your branch will be able to help you get involved.

Make it official – branch roles

Or you could become a branch official and help members have a stronger voice together.

Branch officers organise meetings and run the branch. They are elected by branch members to take on different roles within the branch and to help organise the union’s work.

Among the branch positions are branch workplace union representative, health and safety officer and branch activist. They all receive free training to support them in the role.

Take on an official role as a rep or steward

Whatever your problem at work, from broken central heating to mass redundancies, BAWON workplace union representatives (reps), stewards and other activists work together to protect the interest of members.

Two of the key roles are organising and recruiting new members. Organising means working with members to solve problems together, listening to members’ views, and promoting democracy and participation. Recruiting is vital because greater the proportion of workers who are members of BAWON, the stronger we are when it comes to having our voice heard, and the more likely we are to win campaigns.

Our activist roles are vital to us, and BAWON will provide you with all the training you need. In most workplaces you have the right to paid time off for this training, and crèches are usually available. BAWON reps receive complete support from the union, and there is even a dedicated staff to facilitate the training.

Ways to take an active role

• Stay in contact with members
• Organise your colleagues and make them stronger
• Make your workplace safer
• Support your colleagues to learn
• Stand up for equality
• Represent members
• Campaign on national and global issues
• Make sure youths voices are heard

In your workplace

Stay in contact with members

If you like working with people, why not become a workplace contact?

The role of a workplace contact is to let your branch know what’s happening in your workplace, and to help the union get messages to its members. It’s a good learning opportunity and starting point to get involved in the union.

Organise your colleagues and make them stronger

If you want to help members have a stronger union at work you could think about trying to get elected as a steward.

Workplace stewards are the heart of our trade union. BAWON’s stewards are the reason we win campaigns that result in better lives for our members and all working people.

As a steward, you will help to organise your colleagues into an effective, strong and welcoming membership.

Make your workplace safer

Did you know that at workplaces with trade union health and safety committees there are half as many injuries than at workplaces that manage safety without unions or joint arrangements?

If you’d like your workplace to be one of the safer ones, the key BAWON role of health and safety rep could be the one for you.

Health and safety representatives care about workers’ safety and campaign for better working conditions. As a health and safety representative, you play a vital role in keeping our members healthy and safe at work. To do this you’ll receive expert training and access to help and advice.

Stand up for equality

Equality is at the heart of the union. We challenge discrimination and win equality in the workplace and beyond.

Everyone shares responsibility for equality in BAWON, but to be as effective as possible at tackling discrimination we also have dedicated  union officials.

If you want to make sure people are treated fairly at work and do not suffer from discrimination on the basis of sex, race, sexual orientation, disability, age, religious beliefs or because they work part time, then you might want to think about becoming a BAWON  rep.

In your branch

Campaign on local, national, regional and global issues

BAWON defends public services and fights against austerity around the world, as well as defending human and trade union rights wherever they are under attack.

BAWON international affairs officers play a vital role in this. He/She promote BAWON’s international work and values at branch level and are key in encouraging members to take action, getting international issues onto the branch agenda and encouraging an understanding of the importance of international issues to everyone.

Make sure youths voices are heard

Young people are the ones who have the most to gain, or lose, from what we do in society now.

BAWON wants all branches to have a youth member’s rep to ensure that the issues of concern to young workers and student are heard and acted on. If you want to find out more about being a youth member’s rep, contact your steward.

If you’re under 35, the role of youth member’s officer is ideal as a way to get more involved in the union. It can be a more informal role than a steward or other workplace representative.

Mentor or buddy new BAWON activists

If you’re already active in your branch, and want to make it even stronger, why not support new reps and activists?

BAWON is committed to making sure that every rep has a named contact, buddy or mentor to support them. Could you pass on your wisdom?

The mentoring system works differently at each BAWON branch; smaller branches have an informal buddy system and larger ones have a formal mentoring scheme.

Sometimes a mentor is seen as someone very experienced whose role is to teach a new person the ropes. Others see a mentor as someone who is skilled in asking questions, listening, and encouraging the person they’re mentoring to work things out for themselves.

In BAWON, something between the two will usually work best.

Practical forms of support can include inviting new reps to observe and assist in advising and organising members, participating in meetings with management through shadowing and mentoring, and setting up meetings between new and more experienced stewards.

Some branches may want to train several more experienced activists to act as mentors for new reps over a set timescale of a few months. For other branches, this role is already carried out effectively by the branch steward.

The key roles for a mentor or buddy will be to:

• talk to the rep about their training or other development needs;
• direct them to key people in the branch;
• encourage new reps to work out solutions to issues as they arise;
• help them find ways to follow up actions from courses and put their learning into practice.

Key documents and tools for activists

Key documents and tools for activists

Need to access the case form? Want to talk to activist colleagues? Want to print campaign materials – or even get customised campaign materials printed? You can do so by consulting with the Head Office.

The CASE form

The CASE form is one of the most important documents in BAWON. The form must be completed by (or for) members if they require assistance from the union in dealing with a work place problem. It should be completed as fully as possible, signed and returned to the office.

Chart room/ Organising Space

The Organising Space is a dedicated microsite for BAWON activists and members to share and discuss the issues and strategies affecting their duties in the workplace. Find out more, get access and sign up to the Organising Space.

Do you use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram? Then check out BAWON’s secure social learning microsite exclusively for our activists, reps, members and staff.

The Organising Space   is a secure and safe online resource developed to support our activist and organising communities. It aims to support building relationships, sharing knowledge, learning and experiences.

The space allows us to share content, have discussions, ask experts and seek support from our peers.

The Organising Space encourages the sharing of content that is innovative, creative, flexible, interactive and dynamic.