Become an Area Delegate
An Area Delegate acts as the contact point between the union office and the members in the Area. As an Area Representative you have three important roles:
- Communication with the Branch
- Encouraging active membership
- Recruitment
1. Communication with the Branch
You are the communication link between the members in your Area and the Branch officials. This communication is vital if the NTEU is to have an active and informed membership base. Of course communication is not just a one way channel so the Area Representative needs to feed information in two directions:
- Keep NTEU members in your Area up to date on union activities and policies. To make this as easy as possible, the NTEU will provide you with written information to distribute to members in your Area. Communication is not simply putting a notice in someone’s pigeonhole - it is about explaining, discussing and debating union issues with your members.
- Keep Branch officials informed about what members in your Area want. A series of Area Representative’s meetings are held throughout the year to feed information back to the Branch officials. Please contact the Branch Office or visit if you have any comments you would like to pass on to the union officials.
2. Encouraging Active Membership
An active membership is essential for the union to achieve its goals. The best way to ensure that members are enthusiastic about union activities is to get them involved.
This could involve:
- NTEU training courses.
- Area committees
- Branch committees (e.g. H&S reps reference group) discussions with members and potential members on NTEU’s current activities or unionism in general
- liaising with other Area reps
- recruiting
- participating in union actions
- writing to MPs about the importance of funding for tertiary education
- establishing a union notice board
3. Recruitment
It is important that all staff in your Area are members of the NTEU. Having full membership will provide added support for you as an Area Representative and ensure that the NTEU represents the full range of staff interests.
You can be provided with a list of all members in your Area. Please use this to identify who you could approach about NTEU membership.
Please ensure all potential members in your Area are:
- aware they are eligible to join the NTEU
- aware of the benefits of being an NTEU member
- kept informed about current industrial campaigns and why they are important
While it is hoped you will take responsibility for recruitment in your Area, you are not expected to take on the role alone:
- Please encourage other members in your Area to recruit colleagues and friends
- If there is another general staff or academic representative, it would be effective for you to develop a plan for recruiting in your Area together
- You may find that representatives from other Areas within your faculty have some good ideas for recruitment - talk to each other, pool your ideas.
Area Representatives Checklist
It is IMPORTANT for Area Representatives to:
- Be clearly identified and accessible to members and potential members in the Area - use a door or desk sign to identify yourself
- Keep members informed about Union activities (if you are not receiving sufficient information please contact the Branch Office)
- Approach new staff in your Area about joining the Union when they start work
- Approach all potential-members about joining the Union or organise someone else to do this.
- Inform the Branch Office about staffing changes in your Area.
- Encourage other NTEU members to become more active in the union
- Attend Area Representatives meetings
It is BENEFICIAL for Area Representatives to:
- Talk to other Area representatives in your Faculty
- Set up a members’ group in your Area to help share the load
- Organise a Union notice board in a prominent position in your Area
- Keep a list of ‘wins’ you’ve had in your Area