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  Issue No 45 Official Organ of LaborNet 10 March 2000  

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Unions

Into the New Frontier

By Louise Beard - APESMA industrial officer

IT professionals are part of the new workforce that unions need to win over - and while they are often contractors, they're workers too.

"I didn't know there was a specific award for the IT industry..."

This is something I seem to be hearing a lot lately. And whether it be officers from other unions, employers and even, at times, our own members, more often than not the mention of an award which regulates the terms and conditions of IT professionals elicits this same response.

This reminds me of the reactions I faced when I first began as an Industrial Officer with APESMA. In conversations with former colleagues, friends and the like, I would explain the role of APESMA and its jurisdiction with respect to IT professionals. Even then, some found it difficult to grasp the concept of a union for people in IT, particularly contractors.

But yes, there is a union for those in the IT industry. The Information Technology Professionals Association (ITPA) was established first as an industry group for APESMA members in 1995, then as a separate body in 1996. The ITPA has seen a phenomenal increase in membership of 84% in the last 12 months and a substantial proportion of our ITPA members are indeed contractors.

And yes, there is an IT award. The Information Technology Industry (Professional Engineers) Award 1999 to be precise. As a federal award this applies to a number of listed respondents nation wide.

Do we really need an award for the IT Industry?

We certainly do. A common misnomer, however, is that because market rates for IT professionals are currently high, an award has no real utility. This is clearly not the case, as the benefits of award coverage extend far beyond minimum rates of pay. The best example of this is the access an award gives the employees it covers to the Industrial Relations Commission. To state the obvious, enforcing award conditions and pursuing grievances, particularly alleged cases of unfair dismissal through the Commission, is a much cheaper and far less time consuming alternative to pursuing a claim for breach of contract in a Local or District Court.

In any case, it is important to have minimum award rates in place as a safety net. While most IT professionals are paid well above these rates at present, market rates could just as easily do an about-face in the future. Further, it is never safe to assume that an entire profession is paid highly, just because the market rates are high as an overall indication.

Since the Award was made in July 1999, many employees in the IT industry have been happily discovering their rights as award employees. However this is matched by some employers who still subscribe to the "ignore- it- and- hope- it- goes- away" school of industrial thought. But the IT award will not be going anywhere, and in fact, will only be getting bigger as more employers continue to be roped in.

The role of an ITPA Industrial officer .

The ITPA is administered from APESMA's federal office in Melbourne. As an Industrial Officer in the NSW Branch I have portfolio responsibility for the majority of private industry APESMA (NSW) members and for all ITPA members in NSW.

This puts me in daily contact with members in the IT industry, who phone, fax and of course email their industrial inquiries through. These cover a variety of issues and as a result my duties range from reviewing contracts of employment through to providing representation on redundancy, unfair dismissal and discrimination matters.

The most common questions from ITPA members relate to both award and market rates of pay, working overseas, becoming a contractor, setting up a business and general conditions of employment such as leave entitlements and hours of work. As it is common for contracts of employment in the IT industry to contain confidentiality, intellectual property and post-employment restraint clauses, a considerable amount of advice is also sought in relation to the obligations such clauses create.

The unique aspect of my role is that I deal with individuals as opposed to workplaces. IT professionals are so mobile and so much of their work is project based that it hampers the ability to apply traditional organising models successfully. The focus is therefore not on establishing groups of employees or contractors in the one workplace, identifying workplace delegates or establishing committees.

I have worked closely enough and long enough with IT professionals to know that this would not be a successful approach in any case. This can be attributed to both cultural and practical reasons. The IT industry is largely comprised of young Generation X'ers, who move from job to job and project to project at an unprecedented rate. Many relocate to different cities and countries without a second thought. A great number change their status from that of employee to contractor and vice versa on a regular basis.

The nature of their work is not conducive to team building and rarely fosters a collective identity in a particular workplace. Instead it demands a considerable degree of autonomy and nurtures individualism. While many IT professionals enjoy the ease at which they can work from home - or anywhere with online access for that matter - the nature of their work is sometimes described to me as isolating. I have seen the manifestation of this problem in practice with members who experience difficulties in communicating and negotiating with others in the workplace, particularly managers, but also clients, customers and even colleagues.

Another challenge for an industrial officer in the IT industry is the "secrecy" issue. An alarming number of members will only communicate with the Association in complete secrecy, lest their employer finds out, which "wouldn't look good". This is a sad indictment on the culture of some organisations, but an unfortunate reality that we must face. Members are generally aware of their rights with regard to freedom of association and if they are not, the Association ensures that they become aware. But the practical reality is that the mere existence of certain rights does not necessarily ensure that they will be upheld. If they are infringed it is also often difficult to prove. In most cases the employee concerned complains of a "general feeling" that seeking industrial advice from a union would be frowned upon (as a side issue it is also worth noting that I have found some employers very receptive to the idea of their employees being members of a "professional association" but not a "union". Even when the ITPA's role and functions are explained clearly, it appears that substituting the words "professional association" in place of "union" sometimes makes all the difference. While this may sound absurd it is yet another indictment on the current industrial relations climate, particularly the negative union images propagated by various forces).

In any event, I am yet to come across an individual in the industry who is prepared to pursue a complaint or to stir up any trouble over the issue of union membership. Instead, they prefer to seek advice behind a thick cloak of secrecy. This is obviously far from ideal, and I would be the first person to encourage the opposite. However, it is vital to respect the member's wishes and in doing so this often means ensuring that privacy and confidentiality are foremost considerations. Usually this is only an issue at the very outset of the member's problem, as the importance of maintaining secrecy obviously diminishes when the ITPA is required to act on behalf of the member.

The relevance of a Union in the IT Industry

On the other side of the coin, it is encouraging to find that we are often contacted by IT professionals eager to join the Association who have been referred to us by their colleagues. Even more encouraging is the 83% growth in membership that the ITPA has seen in the last 12 months. So how does a union appeal to potential members in the IT industry?

I believe the answer relates to my earlier observations about the culture of the industry. We need to understand important factors such as what drives IT professionals, how they work, where and when they work and the global market for their skills. It is also important to reiterate that this is not only about understanding the IT profession, but largely about understanding the working patterns and preferences of Generation X, particularly as these differ from those of preceding generations.

In so doing we are more easily able to identify their needs and interests and deliver our services accordingly. We are able to give the members what they want, not what we think they want, or should want. This is the reason our one-on-one approach is successful. It is also why we place so much emphasis on servicing. Because it is what the members want and are prepared to pay for.

Obviously, not everybody agrees with this approach, and I have been engaged in some lively debates in the past with officers from other, more traditional unions. Accordingly, in the interests of supporting my contentions, I provide the following example.

Take the issue of contracting. One of the best things the ITPA could have done was to extend its coverage to IT contractors. Whether you believe, as many do, that contracting is an inferior alternative to employment, the reality of the situation remains - the IT industry is comprised largely of contractors. Further, many IT professionals choose to be contractors. Some prefer the security and benefits, such as leave entitlements that go with their status as an employee, while others prefer the greater flexibility and higher hourly rates of pay enjoyed by contractors. Either way it is a personal choice. Thus, while some unions refuse to have anything to do with contracting, the ITPA must. To respond any differently would be to ignore a pertinent reality in the IT industry and issues facing our members. Our response is therefore to offer advice on becoming a contractor - advantages, disadvantages, legal and practical requirements etc. This is the best thing a union can do for its members - to give them access to resources that will empower them to make an informed, personal decision.

This is just one example of how unions must respond to the real needs and preferences of their members. We must look carefully at the culture of the particular profession or industry and find the best way to appeal to it. Above all we need to be flexible in our approach and let the members' interests dictate the way the union operates and what it offers its membership.

Sometimes this means adopting new ways of doing things and abandoning others. This is often more easily said than done, particularly as some individuals and unions are still very resistant to change. But it all comes back to a basic rule. So basic that it is almost a clich�: to ensure their survival unions must move with the times. I guess this is a clich� for a reason - it is true. This is the information age and we have to move with it, now. This applies not only to groups with a direct interest in IT, but to the entire labour movement.

Please note that the views expressed in this article are the author's and not necessarily those of the APESMA or the ITPA.


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*   Issue 45 contents

In this issue
Features
*  Interview: Working Women
Nareen Young talks about how services are being delivered to our most vulnerable workers - and what unions need to do to make them their own.
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*  Unions: Into the New Frontier
IT professionals are part of the new workforce that unions need to win over - and while they are often contractors, they're workers too.
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*  History: Handling The Ladies
1943 - women were filling the gap in the workforce left by the diggers abroad and Australian managers needed some advice on how to deal with these strange creatures.
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*  Technology: Building The Hypermacho Man
In a stinging critque of the �Wired� culture, Melanie Stewart Miller argues digital cultural is creating a new super-Man.
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*  International: The Long March Home
Trade union women round the world used International Women�s Day to launch the World March of Women Against Poverty and Violence.
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*  Satire: Kerosene Dilution Racket
The nursing home industry has been rocked by a new scandal with the revelation that some unscrupulous proprietors have been diluting their patients� kerosene baths with illicit liquids.
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*  Review: Power and the Back Bar
In an upcoming book, Julia Gillard argues the ALP retains a male culture that is fast losing step with contemporary society.
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Columns
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»  Sport
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Letters to the editor
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»  Crosby Spot On
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»  Confused About Workplace Rights
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»  Global Campaign Against Yahoo!
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»  Teachers Row
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