Building professional and union agency from the bottom up

Recognises that strong workplace union groups supported by active local districts and branches are the foundation blocks enabling the union to win real change for members within and across workplaces. This is how we will shape the future of education to make it more inclusive and equitable for staff and students;
Notes how resources that empower representatives and local officers to negotiate tangible workplace wins can also boost professional autonomy and enhance members’ collective agency to bargain around pedagogy, curriculum and assessment, not to mention fair pay progression, excessive workload and flexible working;
Affirms that to value education, we must also value educators. Every issue must be a union issue.

Affirms that Education International’s strategic focus must be on building professional and union agency from the bottom-up;
Urges EI to support the roll-out – locally, regionally and nationally – of a bottom-up strategy to deliver material gains within and across education workplaces and in particular to support member organisations to:

Develop detailed organising plans to build strong union groups, grow membership and boost representative density within and across every workplace;
Recruit and train a growing army of activists and representatives to deliver these plans in the workplace;
Establish and support national and international activist networks that scale-up wins, exchange best practice and build a movement for educators to re-build their professional agency;
Engage members in our international campaigns to shape the future of education where valued professionals play a pivotal role in actively defining public policies that influence the conditions of teaching and learning.

Ei-iE