2019 Union Reps Conference
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 124 No 3, 23 April 2019, page no. 19
The annual QTU Union Reps Conference was held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday 8 March, with more than 350 QTU Workplace Representatives from across the state participating.
Highlights of the day included an inspirational speech by ACTU Secretary Sally McManus on why the Union movement’s ‘Change The Rules’ campaign is so important at the upcoming federal election. QTU President Kevin Bates thanked Sally and provided a QTU context for the busy year ahead.
Senior Partner at Holding Redlich Rachel Drew provided an entertaining and wide-ranging session of Teachers and The Law, with an extended Q&A session, and many delegates noted that this was the highlight of the day and called for similar Q&A sessions at the legal seminars the QTU provides across the state.
QTU Deputy General Secretary (Member Servicing) Kate Ruttiman took the room on a journey through the history of enterprise bargaining, connected Rep’s length of service to the achievements we have gained across the past two decades of EB campaigning, and put the challenge out to Workplace Reps to look for new ways to engage members as we progress our current EB9 (Schools) and EB10 (TAFE) campaigns across the second half of the first semester.
The day was wrapped up with a presentation and panel session facilitated by myself on the Fair Funding Now! Campaign. This looked at the activism required to win need-based resourcing for all our local state schools at the next federal election by showcasing the work of some of the key activists and coordinators engaged with our political action teams, or PATs.
The QTU will again be hosting a Regional Union Reps Conference later in the year this time in Cairns. This follows the successful events held in Townsville in 2017 and 2018.