FUTURE OF THE UNION FUTURE OF THE UNION

Meet Some Of Our Apprentices Leading The Way Forward

Apprentice of the Year and true internationalist

It’s been a massive year for 20-something, 3rd year QBuild apprentice Iyesha Paull In the space of six months, she was elected workplace delegate, she received an Emma Miller Award in June, won the ETU National Apprentice of the year in October, attended the Global Power Unions Congress in November, and to cap it off she was selected to fill a vacancy on the ETU Executive in December. Wow!

But far from giving herself time to stop and reflect, Iyesha is already focussed on 2023. We caught up with Iyesha after her return from Ireland to discuss the congress, her experiences, and what the next year holds

After leaving Cairns and its balmy mid-thirty-degree temperatures, the ETU’s Apprentice of the Year knew Ireland would be cold and it didn’t disappoint, barely reaching double figures in Dublin and Wexford while she visited. But Iyesha got anything but a frosty reception when she arrived.

“The country is brilliant, and the Irish people are so warm and welcoming, I would go back in a heartbeat.”

On her first visit to the Emerald Isle, Iyesha was struck by the history and culture dating back to Viking times. “It was amazing to see how the country with its complex history was keeping its traditions and culture alive while also evolving as well, I’m really interested in that kind of stuff ”

Before the congress, Iyesha wasn’t sure what to expect, but she was adamant she wanted to put her best foot forward.

“I went into the congress not knowing what to expect, but I am determined to do my best to represent where I am from and to learn as much as I can from the once in a lifetime experience Something I never expected to be doing, it is such an honour ”

During the congress Iyesha was able to network widely with comrades from the more than 20 unions represented

“There was a diverse group of unions from Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland, US, Canada, Kosovo and a few others I think there were around 20 unions represented.”

“I spent a lot of time listening and learning about different issues as well as talking with some fellow young women unionists from Scotland, Iceland, and England, some of whom were also apprentices, others who were fully qualified Some unions also had youth crews ”

“It was really interesting to hear their stories and compare them with my journey, many of us were grappling with the same issues of how to encourage more women into the trade and, by extension, into the union, and the same with younger workers Across the congress, there was a big emphasis on educating and recruiting younger workers and apprentices into our respective unions ”

Another important discussion centred around the global switch to renewable energy sources and how different countries are dealing with it Iyesha noted that despite the push by some in Australia for nuclear power, there was little appetite shown at the congress, even from those that already had it

“I got the general impression that unions were steering away from nuclear power and that collectively the power unions were focussed on truly renewable sources; wind, hydro, solar, hydrogen I was amazed to hear that Norway is 99% renewable and that transport is the remaining nonrenewable area I was inspired by that, as renewables is an area that I am really passionate about It was great to see unionists from across the world having the same passion but using different technologies.”

“While we are investing heavily in solar, the Nordic countries are hydro, and Scotland and England more wind and other technologies. It’s fascinating how we all face the same issues but find solutions based on our strengths and policy positions ”

Some of the other issues that sparked Iyesha’s interest were safety regimes, training and different scopes of experience as apprentices and tradespeople.

“We had one woman from Scotland who was fully licensed but had never worked anywhere else except in shipbuilding, while others had far more expansive scopes of experience, they all had great skills As far as I can recall, all the apprenticeships were 4 years. Many of the issues were the same, how to have a safe work-life balance, wage rates, and ensuring we have strong union representation ”

The highlight of the congress for Iyesha was the collective recognition that more needed to be done to harness greater involvement of youth/apprentices and women in the unions.