Problems during your employment

First contact your shop steward

Your workplace shop steward represents PAM and the employees who are members of PAM. The shop steward is the first person to turn to for help with any issues and problems relating to employment relationships at the workplace. Any problems relating to employment relationships should be resolved through the shop steward.

The general principle is that when there are problems in an employment relationship, the parties should negotiate a solution. The negotiation procedure has been agreed in the collective agreements. In general terms, the procedure is as follows:

To begin with, it’s always a good idea to try to work things out on your own. The best way to clear up disagreements is to talk things through calmly. If you are not able to reach a solution through discussions with your superior, contact your workplace shop steward, who will then become involved in the negotiations.

If the issue remains unresolved after local negotiations, the issue will be recorded in a memorandum of dispute. Many collective agreements include a model memorandum of dispute.

The memorandum of dispute is made in two copies; one is delivered by the shop steward to the PAM regional office and the other is submitted by the employer’s representative to the relevant employer organization.

Both organizations will then start to resolve the dispute. If the organizations also fail to reach an agreement, the Labour Court will ultimately decide what is right.

If there is no shop steward

Contact PAM’s employment advice or the nearest PAM regional office.