unionworkbench.com

What It Is

UnionWorkbench is an all-in-one digital toolkit for trade union stewards in Ireland. Its goal is to bring union casework that is scattered across WhatsApp, email, SMS, PDFs, and paper notes into one centralized system. It covers grievance management, document retrieval, meeting notes, member directories, secure communication, and incident/safety reporting, with a strong emphasis on offline availability.

Core Features and Collaboration

The product’s core is a closed-loop grievance case workflow: guided forms can capture a grievance in 3 minutes, while a quick mode records key points in 60 seconds. Kanban, list, and calendar views track stages under the WRC Code of Practice, calculate deadlines based on Irish working days, and send reminders 3 days before, 1 day before, and on the due date. The document library supports uploads of CBAs, policies, WRC guides, and other materials, with full-text search and device caching.

For collaboration, it provides end-to-end encrypted direct messages, section channels, and case threads, along with meeting templates, voice notes, action-item deadlines, and PDF export. Enterprise supports centralized management across multiple branches, while each branch retains its own separate member data and document library.

Pricing and Deployment

The pricing page shows a single plan: €5/user/year, with all features included, a 30-day free trial, and no credit card required. Large unions can contact the company for custom arrangements. One thing to note is that the FAQ also mentions Pro, Enterprise, and Branch Pro, but the main page does not provide clear tiered pricing.

For deployment, UnionWorkbench is a PWA that supports iOS, Android, and major desktop browsers without requiring the App Store. Self-hosting is not disclosed.

Security and Compliance

The security information is relatively comprehensive: AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS 1.3 in transit, end-to-end encrypted messaging, and data hosted on EU servers. It states GDPR compliance, provides a DPA, logs access to personal data, and supports data export/deletion. Sensitive member information uses tap-to-reveal to reduce the risk of accidental exposure.

Pros, Cons, and Who It’s For

Its strengths are its highly vertical use case, strong offline capabilities, low price, and compliance design tailored to Irish union work. Its drawbacks are that third-party integrations, APIs, and payment methods are not disclosed, and local logic around WRC/HSA makes it less suitable for organizations outside Ireland.

It is best suited to Irish union branches, shop stewards, safety representatives, and union officials.

Access from China

Access from China is unknown. Even if accessible, its legal workflow and compliance modules are mainly designed for Ireland. Chinese teams that only need collaboration and knowledge/document management could consider combinations such as WeCom, DingTalk, or Lark with documents and approval workflows, but these would not replace UnionWorkbench’s Ireland-specific union features.