Building IEU power through training
Unions thrive on personal interaction, and solidarity is strengthened through structured, face-to-face training. Combined with effective follow-up, well-trained Reps are more likely to lead successful member outcomes.
In early 2026, a specific training program was developed to support the Victorian Catholic school bargaining campaign. The training was designed to ensure Reps fully understood the campaign and how to use their entitlements under new delegate rights laws to support it.
It also provided ways for Reps to channel member frustration with employers and workshopped responses to ongoing employer tactics opposing and delaying the SIA application.
These delays were addressed in training, with members examining how to continue pushing for fair bargaining despite sustained employer opposition, and the need to be active, not just reactive.
Why training Reps matters
The training was underpinned by the findings of the 2005 Australian Trade Union Institute (ATUI) report Delegates are Diamonds, which describes workplace Reps as “the lifeblood of unions”, whose activism, commitment, and sense of fairness drive organising and membership growth.
These Reps are “valuable… (and) can be priceless” because they act on deeply held values of justice and a “sense of purpose”.
The authors found that training and development turn Rep values into confident leadership and convert belief into collective action.
Training in Term 1
The term started with almost 100 Reps attending an online briefing where they heard about the campaign to date, learned about the plans and expectations for Term 1, and were encouraged to organise a sub-branch meeting to maximise participation in separate briefings, where over 200 members were updated on the latest campaign news.
In the middle of term, we delivered a series of in-person training sessions right across the state, culminating in a large event at Trades Hall in Melbourne attended by nearly one hundred Reps. These sessions were designed to channel anger into constructive ideas that build hope and lead to action.
A key “structure test” agreed by Reps was a day of solidarity actions in support of the AEU strike on 24 March, as outcomes in the Catholic school sector are closely aligned with the government sector.
The training equipped Reps to engage members in their workplaces and lead visible collective actions, such as coordinating staff to wear black or organising member-only morning teas. These actions were then shared by the IEU online and on social media.
The impact of in-person training is clear: nearly two-thirds of solidarity actions took place at workplaces where the Rep had attended face-to-face training. This suggests that training, particularly in person, helps to support campaign goals and strengthen Reps’ capacity to drive collective action.
Follow-up
In the 2022 ATUI report Use it or Lose It: Education and Development of Delegates in Australian Unions, David Peetz argues that “arguably the most important aspect of union education and training is follow-up to formal training” and that Organisers are “critical in converting theoretical classroom knowledge… into actual situations.”
The research warns that without follow-up, “the effort put into training is wasted”. The take-away is clear: Rep training plus Organiser follow-up produces action.
This aligns with the IEU model, where Organisers support training delivery and provide personal workplace follow-up after training.
The IEU Catholic training program reflects this model by combining structured training, clear actions, and Organiser follow-up, translating training into visible collective action.