Shop steward elections
PAM members are entitled to elect a shop steward amongst themselves. A shop steward is the representative of PAM employees at the workplace. A shop steward must be employed at the workplace and know the conditions at the workplace.
The election of the shop steward and deputy shop steward must be organised so that all members at the workplace are able to participate in the election. Industry-specific shop steward agreements have been reached been employers’ federations and trade unions.
After the shop steward election, a notification form is always completed to notify the designation of a shop steward. You will find electronic notification forms and other material for shop steward elections in the menu on the right of the page.
In these shop steward election guidelines, ‘shop steward’ is the general term for all shop stewards.
GENERAL
Election period
At PAM workplaces shop steward elections are generally held between October and December in odd years, so once every two years. If a shop steward is elected at a workplace for the first time or if a shop steward steps down, elections can be held at any time.
Term of office
A shop steward’s term of office starts at the beginning of an even year and lasts two (2) years. The terms of office are 1.1.2020 - 31.12.2021, 1.1.2022-31.12.2023 etc.
Electing a shop steward during a term of office
If a workplace has not had a shop steward previously or if the shop steward resigns due to a change of job or some other reason, a new shop steward is elected. The deputy shop steward stands in for the shop steward until a new regular shop steward is elected. The term of office of the new shop steward starts immediately after the election. The elected shop steward remains in office until the end of the current term of office.
An exception is that shop steward elected in an election year (for example 2021, 2023) continues directly for the following two-year period.
Example 1.
The shop steward at a workplace changes jobs mid-term in spring 2020. The workplace must hold a new election. The term of office of the new shop steward continues until 31.12.2021.
Example 2.
The shop steward at a workplace changes jobs mid-term in spring 2021 (election year). The workplace must hold a new election. The term of office of the new shop steward continues until the end of the following two-year period, i.e. 31.12.2023.
Eligibility
All PAM members must have the possibility to propose, stand for election, vote and be elected shop steward or deputy shop steward. To stand for election or propose candidates to be shop stewards, your PAM membership must be valid. *
* an exception is that candidates and proposers in retail supervisor shop steward elections must be members either of PAM or KEY.