Rights hold their value because they are enshrined in legislation or other enforceable instruments. When rights can be taken away, they become mere privileges.
For IEU members, our rights are contained in the various enterprise agreements that we negotiate on your behalf. These rights are not permanent unless we actively fight to maintain them.
Every time we engage in bargaining, all those rights that we have won through longstanding campaigns are under threat. This is why we need our members to unite to do two crucial things:
- protect existing rights to beneficial working conditions
- fight for better rights to improve our working conditions.
Protecting existing rights
A simple glance at our NewsExtras will show you that in every bargaining session, employers try to take away the rights we have won. For instance, in our current independent schools’ campaign, employers are attempting to remove 15 days of paid personal leave available to teachers upon the commencement of their employment.
When union members stand together, we increase our bargaining power to protect these rights.
Fighting for better rights
Each bargaining process presents an opportunity to create more rights. Our members inform us about the important issues that can improve your working lives in schools and other workplaces.
How to be more engaged
There are numerous ways to get involved in the union and have a greater say in shaping our way forward:
- Encourage your colleagues to join the IEU: Our membership density is the source of our power to protect and fight for your rights. Joining is easy: ieu.asn.au/why-join-us
- Attend your chapter meetings: Chapter meetings are the perfect settings to identify issues at your school and discuss how matters will impact you at the school level.
- Attend sub branch meetings: These meetings provide a great opportunity to network with colleagues from schools and workplaces in your local area. Sharing your story can reveal that you are not alone in your experiences.
Finally, remember that ‘union’ is not a dirty word. You are part of the union because you believe in protecting your existing rights and securing them for those who come after you.
Most importantly, being part of a union means belonging to a community of your fellow professionals.