2001 Women's Conference
7 & 8 July 2001, Melbourne
The annual NTEU Women's Conference was held in Melbourne this year in early July. Key themes of the Conference included:
- Contesting the workplace – Sex Discrimination, emergent pressure points and strategies to address them.
- Future Directions in tertiary education and our organising response.
- The 2001 Federal election - a key election for women.
- Speaking out: time to re-think University Governance.
Invited guests were Sally Moyle (Director of the Sex Discrimination Unit in HREOC), Janelle Saffin (MLC NSW Government, Member SCU Council), Lee Rhiannon (MLC NSW, Member UNSW Council), Emmaline Bexley (President, University of Melbourne Postgraduate Association), Ann Junor (SPIRT team on Casualisation) and Sharan Burrow (ACTU President).
One of the highlights from the conference included the exchange of views on organising in the Union from across the full range of union members. Women participating included representatives from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), TAFE, Student Unions, Batchelor Institute and higher education academic and general staff. Having such broad representation informed two important areas of the Union’s work – recruitment, especially of general staff following the coverage decision, and the development of an effective response to casualisation in both academic and general staff areas.
The aims of the women’s conference were to:
- Explore new ways of linking discrimination and industrial law to achieve better outcomes for women. Complaint based processes can often be more distressing for the complainant, even when the case is successful. We need to develop more pro-active strategies for contesting discrimination in the workplace. Among these strategies are utilising the occupational health and safety jurisdiction more creatively to improve outcomes for women.
- Build strong organising bridges between the diverse groups within the membership of the NTEU, and thinking through how we can best present our message to women working across the entire tertiary sector, and across diverse occupational categories.
- Build momentum for engagement in the Federal Election, to be held later this year, through running training sessions to support the work of local activists. It is a critical election for education, and we must maximise our impact on public opinion.
- Exchange information on the ways in which increased commercialisation and corporatisation has driven a new view on governance within our institutions. Such a view often marginalises the voice of staff and students, and only listens to the voice of public opinion if it seems consistent with institutional management. It is time that staff articulated a new, inclusive and publicly accountable view of university governance.
Outcomes from the conference include:
- Detailed feedback to the SPIRT team on Casualisation, headed by Ann Junor, and to the Industrial Unit to inform preparation of the Theme resolution on Casualisation (to view, click on the link below).
- A motion on Occupational Health & Safety to Council (see link below).
- Provided critical comment and suggestions for campaign directions in the development of the policy on workplace bullying for discussion at Council 2001.
- Working on designing a training program in Recruitment and Organising, that incorporates some “Train the Trainer” skill development.
- Development of practical ways to strengthen organising among women members.
- Activist training in relation to working with the media, and developing local campaigns.
- Exchange of information, ideas and practical strategies on University Governance from women who are or have been active members of university governing bodies, to inform the Union’s future work in this area.
- Discussion and development of key points for a ‘Women and the NTEU’ and an NTEU ‘Women and the Federal Election leaflet’.
Further information:
| Federal Election 2001 | Archive - the Union's campaign on the 2001 Federal Election. |
| Federal Election 2001 | Archive - the Union's campaign on the 2001 Federal Election. |