It has already been a very busy start to the year with a lot of activity around the end-of-year process, which has seen a significant uplift in the number of members Advance has helped. From a member perspective, we have seen an increase in members supported by 61% against last year, which is a very significant increase, and of those we have supported, we have seen 62% receive an uplift in their score, resulting in a higher bonus being paid. This is great news for members; it means more people received the reward they deserved.

Later in this magazine, you will see we have launched a member’s survey and it is vital that as many of you as possible complete it. We need your feedback as it helps us to determine how best to represent your views to senior leaders across the bank. In addition, for completing it, you will be entered into a draw for £200 worth of Love2Shop high street shopping vouchers, which will be drawn when we close the survey on 2nd of April. This is just for members to complete, but don’t forget you can earn £10 for each member you sign up, and it allows them to have their voice heard and a chance to win £200 as well.

We would also urge as many members as possible to complete Global Employee Engagement Survey, which closes on the 20th of March. This replaces Peakon and is your time to give your honest and authentic feedback directly to the bank.

You will see that we are planning a virtual conference this year, which will look to build on the actions we took from last year’s face-to-face event held in Manchester. This is an event where any member can submit a motion for discussion and another way you, as members, can have your voices heard. Full details of how you can attend and be part of the debate will be shared through our normal channels.

Later this month, I will be meeting with the bank’s new CEO. The relationship that Advance Union has with the most senior people in the bank is such a strong indication of the unwavering commitment of both parties to working in partnership and we are committed to continuing to deliver good member outcomes through our established way of working with the bank under Mahesh’s leadership.

Finally, as you will see later on, we have reviewed our membership fee as part of the motions from last year’s conference. Many of you will know that the fee for union membership has remained unchanged for 18 years, and sadly, we cannot sustain the level of service and communication without increasing the membership fee to £8.90 a month

I hope you will agree that over the last couple of years, you have experienced more meaningful interaction through our communications, conference and ballots than ever before. In addition, while it’s not the reason people join a union, we have been working behind the scenes to enhance the additional benefits members can use. Again, I stress these are not the reasons people join, but it does mean that if you take advantage of the services provided by our partners, you can make significant savings.

This is not a decision taken lightly and should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me.

Jim