Delegates
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Across all industries and workplaces, over two-million workers in unions across Australia continue to negotiate higher pay to ensure all members get a fair wage for a fair day’s work. Join your union today and make it happen.What is a delegate and what do they do?
Union delegates (also known as shop stewards or union reps) represent the union members at a workplace.
As fellow employees (and members), delegates automatically share some common experiences with you. They are in the best position to support you and other union members in the workplace to stand up for your rights.
When you’re a union member and you encounter a problem or want to talk about making changes in your workplace, your delegate is the first person to approach. Any conversation you have with a delegate is confidential.
Being part of a union gives you collective power, and that means working with delegates who can help negotiate better terms and conditions.
The purpose of having a delegate (or more than one) at work is to:
- Act as a first point of contact for members
- Represent members’ interests to management
- Share information from union organisers to members and vice versa
- Conduct workplace meetings
- Facilitate discussions to resolve issues
- Make sure members know their rights at work
- Represent members in meetings or attend as a support person
- Engage in enterprise bargaining negotiations on your behalf
If you’re a member of your union and you’d like to become a delegate, contact your union.
How has the Albanese Government strengthened the role of the delegate?
The Albanese Government and Australian Parliament have introduced new laws that recognise the critically important work of delegates, and the tremendous barriers they can face at work.
The right of delegates to represent workers is now legally protected. Delegates have the right to reasonable communication with members and potential members when it comes to work matters.
Delegates also have access to paid time off during normal working hours to make sure they have the skills they need to better represent the needs of members. The amount of training time available depends on the size of the workplace and how long they’ve been delegate. To find out more, contact your union.
Have the changes given any instructions to employers?
They have. Under this new act, a delegate’s employer must not unreasonably fail or refuse to deal with a delegate on a workplace matter. The employer must not knowingly or recklessly make false or misleading representation to the delegate or unreasonably hinder, obstruct, or prevent the delegate’s duties.
In a nutshell, employers should be engaging with delegates in good faith to help address workplace issues.
FAQ
Definitely. The more employees (and members) there are, the more delegates you should aim to have in your workplace!
Other than being a pillar of support for fellow union members at work, there are additional reasons why you might want to become a delegate.
- You are trained in useful and transferable skills like advanced negotiation, public speaking and facilitation.
- You gain experience in ‘soft skills’ like emotional intelligence, leadership, teamwork and critical thinking.
- Even when you change workplaces, you’ll find that your in-depth knowledge of work rights will always serve you well.
A Health and Safety Representative (HSR) is similar to a delegate in that they represent the workers on site.
The key difference is that HSRs only act on Work Health and Safety issues i.e. anything that affects the physical and/or mental health of workers. As such, HSRs have different powers to delegates.
A union delegate is an employee in the workplace that represent workers’ interests. A union Organiser works for the union, and liaises with delegates across multiple workplaces to address union members’ issues.
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