IEU Reps appeared before the Senate inquiry into the Fair Work Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill in November to share their experiences as union delegates.
Union delegates or representatives (reps) are at the centre of fair and efficient workplaces; collective bargaining would fall apart without them. These unpaid, volunteer roles need and deserve basic rights and protections.
Long-serving IEU Reps Abbey, a Catholic high school teacher, and Eugene, a Catholic school teacher/coordinator, appeared at the inquiry to speak about how their roles underpin cooperative workplaces and what delegates need to support their workmates effectively.
Abbey and Eugene are part of a 2000-strong nationwide network of IEU Reps made up of teachers, learning aides, librarians, lab techs, early childhood professionals, school leaders and services staff. Members volunteer for these unpaid roles on behalf of colleagues and their workplace.
Workplace laws have changed dramatically in recent years with the continued decentralisation of much of the system to the enterprise level; however, the rights and protections for delegates haven’t kept pace with these changes.
While the IEU has negotiated delegates’ rights in many schools, such rights aren’t available in most Australian workplaces.
This is why we need the Closing Loopholes Bill to guarantee the rights of delegates to undertake their role, access union training and liaise with employees and management to help solve local problems.
The system would grind to a halt if not for delegates working alongside staff and management. They play a role in:
•helping negotiate and implement collective agreements to get wages moving and improve workplace efficiencies
•consulting on proposed changes and how they will impact staff and work operations – listening to workers leads to better decision making, staff wellbeing and job satisfaction
•identifying and talking with management where there are cases of incorrect pay or workplace problems so they can be resolved at the local level to avoid costly legal disputes, and
•participating in consultative committees and other management-employee forums to foster open communication and shared strategies to challenges such as staffing or workload.
We expect so much of workplace delegates, all they ask in return are modest changes to help them make workplaces fairer and prevent employee exploitation.
Note: The Closing Loopholes Bill passed Parliament on 7 December, with more reforms to be introduced in 2024.
IEU Speaks is the voice of the Federal IEU, representing 75,000 teachers, principals and support staff across Australia.