Privacy policy

This privacy policy explains how we process your personal data. If you have any questions or comments about this privacy policy, please let us know by emailing bob.robinson@gmb.org.uk or write to us at the address below. 

This Website is operated by GMB Wales and South West  (GMB, we, us or our, for short) a regional arm of the membership-based trade union organisation GMB. We are the “data controller” (i.e. the legal entity which decides the means and purpose for the processing of your personal data) for the purpose of applicable data protection law.

How we process your personal data

If you contact us about our services, the forms you complete or the emails you send may include information about you, such as your name as the contact point for an organisation, your email address, the organisation's address and your enquiry. We use this information to respond to your enquiries. 

• GMB holds personal data about its members. This data is used to process your membership, provide you with information from GMB, to enable us to carry out our membership activities and to provide us with management and statistical information.  Any Data that is obtained via this website is held on secure UK based servers hosted by TSOHost. 

• The website sets cookies to allow for the smooth running of the 'Expression engine' by default. These cookies include: 

exp_last_activity-Every time the state is updated (the page reloaded) the last activity cookie is set to the current exp_last_activity-Every time the state is updated (the page reloaded) the last activity cookie is set to the current

exp_last_activity-Every time the state is updated (the page reloaded) the last activity cookie is set to the current datetime.  This cookie expires after 1 year

exp_last_visit-Sets the datetime that you last visited the site.  This cookie expires after 1 year.

exp_tracker-Records the last 5 pages that you have viewed, and is used primarily for page redirection. This cookie expires at the end of the session.

The website also sets a “Load Balancing” Cookie, allows the engine to allocate traffic between different servers.

• We also collect data that is anonymised data from users via Google Analytics. These cookies are used to collect information about how visitors use our website. We use the information to reports and to help us improve the website. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the website, where visitors have come to the website and the pages they visited. You can read Google’s overview of privacy and safeguarding data here.

• GMB primarily collects and maintains personal information so that it can carry out its functions as a trade union, provide membership services and comply with certain statutory obligations. We            contact members about matters relevant to your trade union membership and in relation to membership services and relevant campaigns, including without limitation to discharge our                            statutory duties under TULRA (Trade Union and Labour Relations Act as updated and in force from time to time). *Please note, where a member has opted out of each form of communication (E-mail, SMS, Phone) GMB will revert to physical post as a means of discharging our statutory duties as above.

• The personal data will be used for a range of union-based activities relating to its running. These include the maintenance of records, monitoring for equal opportunity purposes, assisting employment disputes, ballots, injury claims and other services and benefits.

• All information (updated as appropriate) will be kept throughout an individual's time as a member and for such reasonable period (and to the extent necessary) after membership as may to enable the member to access any post-membership benefits.

• From time to time we may also use, or make your personal information available to other carefully selected organisations for the purpose of marketing GMB approved/branded products services, or for research purposes.

• Where, very occasionally, GMB uses the services of these organisations, they are contractually obliged to process your data on behalf of the union as data processor and in a secure confidential manner under our strict instructions.

• We may access and disclose individually identifiable information to enable us to comply with applicable laws and lawful government requests to operate its systems and to protect itself or its users.

• By joining GMB you agree to our processing of your personal information, including sensitive personal information, such as trade union membership, for the purposes outlined above.

• In line with the legitimate interest we have in promoting the interests of our membership, we will also process your enquiries to provide you with information about the services we offer.

• Personal data will also be available to our employees, officers and officials (both at head office and branch regional offices) and others including agents, contractors and other service providers who are associated with the union.

• Your information may be collected by and/or shared at the relevant regional-branch level and, in turn, any regional-branch that collects your personal information may share that with GMB as the national over-arching parent organisation.

• This might include replying to your enquiry, or sending you our newsletter if you ask to be added to our mailing list (see further below).

• We may also process enquiries to take steps you ask of us with a view to entering into an agreement to provide you with our services.

• You are under no obligation to provide us with any details, but if you don’t provide all relevant information, we may not be able to help.

Newsletter

We will keep you up to date with information on news and campaign activity by mail, email and/or text unless you would like to be removed from that list (in which case, please let us know by writing or by clicking unsubscribe at the bottom of each Newsletter or the relevant subscription option when you first provide or update your personal information).

In order to send you the information that is most relevant to your location, we may also process your postcode and address.