MY UNION ◆
National Council 2021 COVID-19 restrictions have meant that both last year’s and this year’s National Council meetings were moved to being fully online. This year's Council has been separated into two meetings, one held on 1 October and the second to be held on 3-4 December. NTEU’s governing National Council normally meets in early October every year, with over 120 delegates from every Branch coming to Melbourne for the three day meeting. With COVID restrictions during the last Melbourne lockdown applying at the time when Council would normally occur, it was impossible for staff to provide the in-person administrative support to the National Officers that is necessary to ensure a smooth running of all of Council’s business and operations, even if conducted fully online. Therefore, National Executive decided that a 2 hour online session of Council would be held on 1 October to consider the business necessary under the NTEU Rules, specifically the presentation of the financial statements and the 2021/22 Budget. National Councillors also briefly discussed growth strategies as part of the October meeting. This was followed by an online forum around a presentation by Jim Stanford, Director of the Centre for Future Work, on the research paper An Avoidable Catastrophe – the Pandemic and Job Losses in Higher Education and their Consequences, recently prepared for NTEU. The rest of National Council business, including the debates and discussions on resolutions around NTEU policies, priorities and actions, as well as considering any rule changes, is scheduled for a special online meeting on 3–4 December. ◆ Right: National Council zoom meeting on 1 October.
Democracy, Social Justice and the Role of Trade Unions Democracy, Social Justice and the Role of Trade Unions: We the Working People is a new book edited by Caroline Kelly & JooCheong Tham. Trade unions worldwide face a powerful paradox at this critical juncture: collective organisations for workers are urgently needed and yet there are serious pressures undercutting the legitimate role of trade unions. The aim of this book is to examine how trade unions can effectively navigate this deeply contradictory challenge. It is underpinned by the conviction that trade unions are – and should be – vital institutions for democracy and social justice. Written by leading scholars in industrial relations and labour law as well as those in political philosophy and political science, the collection tackles a range of pressing topics for trade unions including: the climate crisis; the COVID-19 pandemic; economic democracy; democracy within trade unions; precarious work; and election campaigns. ◆
Anthem Press is offering a generous 20% discount to NTEU members who purchase the book via their website, using the discount code CKEL20 www.anthempress.com/democracy-social-justice-and-the-role-of-trade-unions Offer valid from 1 November 2021 to 31 January 2022
ADVOCATE VOL. 28 NO. 3 ◆ NOV 2021
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