What is the ‘point’ of being a member of the IEU?
Many non-members ring the IEU once they have an issue and request to join to get help. In a majority of these situations, the non-member knew of the IEU but chose not to join for any number of reasons. Sadly, we cannot help them with that issue.
We have many members who don’t really tap into the important resources we have available, which means they may not understand how to inform non-members of the enormous value of their IEU Membership.
So what is the ‘point’ of being a member of the IEU?
A common misconception about unions relates to media vision of union strikes and pickets — discard that overused concept from your minds.
Picketing and rallies are usually the ‘last resort’ action for unions. It occupies the least amount of our time because we work hard to achieve resolutions before action is needed against an employer.
However! We will certainly attend rallies for social justice causes to be sure we represent a fair go for all, and, to ensure governments and authority treat social issues with importance – eg. this year we marched with International Memorial Day for Workers killed at work, SchoolStrike4Climate and the biggest rally seen in Adelaide for two decades – March4Justice (#enoughisenough).
The four hierarchal levels of action we implement for our members
Let’s focus on the ‘point’ of the IEU. If you consider the four-level ‘action plan’ graphic below:
- LEVEL 1 – We spend most of our time in meetings, having discussions and exploring resolutions, and giving advice to our members.
- LEVEL 2 – We negotiate employment changes, settlements and entitlements, we advocate for members in their employment matters and we bargain on behalf of members for their Enterprise Agreements.
- LEVEL 3 – If the individual parties and the IEU cannot settle a matter, we organise appropriate industrial and legal support.
- LEVEL 4 – If all other options fail to resolve an enterprise bargaining matter, we have the option of taking industrial action. However we are usually able to reach settlement before this becomes necessary.
Being a member of the IEU puts all our resources and experience in support of you should you ever need it.
In our experience, you will definitely need support, advice or directive throughout your education career. That may even just be contract or leave advice.
In fact, members should really contact us more often. The sooner we can give you qualified guidance and advice, the sooner you will know you are taking the correct option.
Knowing you can contact us for even the simplest question gives you the support you deserve and allows you to be the best educator you can be.
Got a question or need advice? Contact us today – 8410 0122 or email: enquiries@ieusa.org.au
Don’t forget to share this information with a non-member and invite them to join. More members give you a stronger collective voice.
