: Jenny Article
he Delegate and Activist Conference, held on 1st August 2011, was a stimulating and fun day. We heard interesting speakers and had a chance to network and time for questions. The keynote speaker was Matt Finnis, the CEO of the AFL Players’ Association. He was a lively speaker and it was great to hear about a different sort of organisation which represents its members. The emphasis on solidarity and basic union philosophy was surprising and heartening. The 100% density that the AFLPA has makes it a very effective union and every other union very jealous! Colin Long filled us in on the evolving strategic vision for the Victorian Division of the NTEU, which was really valuable for us to hear. As delegates we don’t often get to hear the bigger picture things from the NTEU. The paper Colin shared with us, Growing the sector, growing the NTEU helped us focus on some of the challenges facing the NTEU. I particularly liked seeing the draft Statement of Purpose, which defined the role of the NTEU as having more than a narrow industrial focus - something I agree with strongly but have had discussions with others about, who disagree with this. The part of the statement that really said it for me was that the NTEU is about
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NEXUS SUMMER 2011
Klingler
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“defending and extending workplace democracy and collegiality.” I feel strongly that this is an important role and is needed to turn around workplace culture where management seems to work against these principles. The issue of the rights of delegates was discussed and it is clear that rights and protections for delegates need to be strengthened. There were various group sessions on delegates’ duties and the skills, knowledge and attributes of a delegate. It was good to work with delegates from other institutions on these issues. A panel of three active delegates talked about their experiences as a delegate. It’s great to hear what others are doing and how they go about it. The controversial issue of using an external company to do recruiting as a trial was raised as a concern. Colin filled us in on his perspective on this. We came away from the conference with renewed enthusiasm and some new ideas for our role as delegates. Some of us found new contacts to network with. All in all it was a really useful and enjoyable conference.
cCaw
M Atosha