Please complete and sign this form to gain access to a unitetheunion.org email address. This completed online form will be emailed to your local unite ICT co-ordinator and you will be contacted in due course with unite credentials.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The acceptable use policy applies to all persons using the Unite remote access service and is designed to help protect our service, our members, and the Internet community from irresponsible or illegal activities.  Unite expect that common sense and good judgement will guide all of our subscriber’s activities on the Internet. If a Unite Activist account is used to violate the policy, we reserve the right to terminate service without notice. Our preferred course of action would be to advise the account owner of the inappropriate behaviour and corrective action necessary. However, flagrant violations of the policy will result in immediate termination of service. By completing this form you are agreeing to the security requirements implemented by the ICT department.

Please activate your new email account within 14 days of receipt of login details. If an account has not been accessed within a 3 month period we reserve the right to disable or remove the account without any requirement to restore any data if later required. This is to ensure we maintain the security and performance of our systems. Loss of a device configured with access to email should be reported to your Regional IT contact.

Requirements

•  Only Apple or Windows devices are permitted to access Unite email accounts.
•  Users can only access the email system from Union authorised countries.
•  Users will need to download the Microsoft Authenticator app.

Acceptable Use Policy

Unite Activist Email accounts may be used only by the authorised owners of the accounts except where specifically authorised by Unite System Administrators. Revealing your password to others or allowing use of your account by others is prohibited. Unite accounts and services may be used for lawful purposes only. Use of a Unite account or service in an illegal manner is ground for immediate termination of the account. Potentially illegal activities that are prohibited include but are not limited to:

• Unauthorised copying of copyrighted material without the consent of the copyright holder.
• Making fraudulent offers of items, products or services originating from your account.
• Threatening bodily harm or property damage to individuals or groups.
• Accessing material of an offensive or pornographic nature.

The following Email-related actions are prohibited:

• Using an email box exclusively as a storage space for data.
• Attempting to impersonate any person, using forged headers or other identifying information.
• Distribution of malicious software.

The Unite ballot rules and guidelines for the conduct of Union elections state that the Union’s general fund resources should not be used to support a particular candidate in an election. Unite considers that this prohibition includes use of the Union’s Internet/Intranet and e-mail facilities for campaigning purposes. This account is the sole responsibility of the Branch Secretary/Workplace Rep/Activist, whilst you remain in post this account should be used in-line with the policy stated above and the data protection act, on leaving your role you are required to notify IT so that the account can be transferred to a new member who will assume full responsibility post transfer

I agree to the terms and conditions set out above.

Mass Mailing Guidelines

Please note that emailing or messaging activists is exempt from this policy.

This document covers all forms of electronic communication, where we refer to mass this is where more than 50 members are contacted with the same or a very similar message or the message contains any promotional content (which includes any promotion of the union, our campaigns, disputes, work, services or other polices, aims or ideals).  

It is important to recognise our legal obligations when sending electronic communications that contain any promotional content:

• There is a legal requirement to clearly identify who has sent the message and this must be from Unite the Union
• There is a legal requirement to only distribute materials to individuals who have opted to receive such communications
• There is a legal requirement to provide the opportunity to unsubscribe/opt out of receiving future messages and to include a valid contact address 

More information can be found at the Information Commissioners Office website (https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guide-to-pecr/)

 

Mass Emailing and Mass Texting

The following steps should be carried out each and every time a mass or promotional communication to members is sent out.

1. Complete the online Mass Communications Request Form
2. If the communication is being sent to a bespoke distribution list that can’t be defined by region, employer, sector, branch or workplace, you must download an up-to-date list from the membership system and upload this to the online request form.
3. Only current lists from the membership system can be used. Any other lists from surveys, petitions etc cannot be used and any contact detail changes from surveys should be updated on Stratum/Branch Portal before generating the distribution list.
4. The content of the email must clearly be identifiable as coming from Unite the Union as per the above legal requirement.
5. The category/preference that your email falls under (regional, sector, branch, workplace, political etc.) will be identified by the Digital Team based on the content. Any member that has previously opted-out of the relevant category will not receive the mailing. Members receiving the email will be able to opt-out of the relevant category of communication, rather than all emails (if they choose). For mass SMS (text messages), there is only the ability to opt in or out of all SMS communications (this includes those considered mandatory by email), so care should be taken to limit mass SMS to essential communications to reduce member opt-outs.
6. Members must be able to opt out of mass/promotional communications and emails sent via our mass mailing system provide the means to do this. If a member contacts you directly to say that they wish to stop receiving communications, you must update their record on Stratum as soon they contact you. If the member’s details appear on any separate lists you hold, they must also be removed from these and only current details from the live membership system used for communications.  

If you require assistance please contact your local administrative support, if they are not available please contact your local Regional Digital Assistant or digital@unitetheunion.org.

As a Unite representative or elected branch official you should have received Unite’s GDPR activist briefing and breach reporting procedure already and will understand that you must keep information relating to Unite members confidential and secure. You can access and download Unite’s GDPR Activist Booklet HERE