2025 IEU Officer Forum: Innovate. Lead. Grow.
Every 2 years, the IEU Officer Forum is held to bring together staff and elected officials from all IEU branches around Australia.
The forum is an important event for the IEU as it involves the Federal Council meeting, professional learning through Plenary Sessions and Workshops, and a chance for IEU management and officers to meet (again, or for the first time) their peers from other branches.
Plenary sessions included:
- International solidarity
- Workplace flexibility and gender labour markets
- Winning on equity and gender priorities
- Harnessing AI as a potential tool for union growth
- Tackling member churn and strengthening member engagement
- Recruiting and activating future IEU leaders
- Sector snapshot of the IEU across Australia
- Communication skills for challenging moments
- Bargaining priorities with growth at the centre
Workshops (and meal breaks) gave officers opportunities to discuss localised issues and how each branch deals with them.
Shared learning is important as it can save a lot of time if another branch has already encountered and found a solution (or headed in a different direction) — time and resources can be saved. Members can be provided with solutions that are timelier, are clearer and better understood as they are developed from existing implementations.
Officers from the SA Branch collate their notes from the forum and distribute these across the branch so that we can select and prioritise new ideas for the benefit of our members.
