Building better workplace relations: all delegates should take advantage of the range of approved employee education training courses offered by NZNO.

THE EMPLOYMENT Relations Act (ERA) 2000 reintroduced paid leave for union education. The purpose of giving certain employees paid leave to increase their knowledge about employment relations is to improve relations among unions, employees and employers and to promote the objects of the ERA, especially the duty of good faith.

You are eligible for this paid leave if you are a union member whose employment is covered by a collective agreement or if your union has initiated bargaining for a collective agreement. Your union calculates the paid Employment Relations Education Leave (EREL) and notifies your employer by March 1 each year of the number of days' entitlement allocated per workplace.

Attendance at EREL seminars entitles you to ordinary pay for that day. All you need to do is give your employer no less than 14 days notice of your intention. NZNO sends you a copy of the notice letter, which you give to your team leader.

The NZNO EREL courses approved by the Minister of Labour are:

* Effective Delegates: The aim of this course is to assist new delegates in understanding their role, and to provide the opportunity to acquire skills and knowledge to be effective in their workplaces.

Wellington and Central region delegates attending recent education sessions had this to say: "This course was very good at informing me how to be an effective delegate, how and where to get support"; "I am much more clear now about what my role as a delegate is"; "The day has been an affirmation of all the reasons I wanted to become a delegate and I now feel a lot more confident that I can do a good job."

* Getting Members Involved: The aim of this course is to provide knowledge and skills that will enable delegates to develop strategies to increase members' involvement in their workplaces. "The day was generally useful because I learnt more about NZNO objectives and feel I will be able to educate members better about these now"; I enjoyed being able to listen to other people, find out about their workplaces and to talk about issues in my workplace. It is a good forum to meet other delegates."

* Working with Members' Issues: This course aims to provide delegates with the skills and knowledge to actively work with members to resolve workplace issues. "The whole day gave me more tools to deal with members' problems"; "The day was not long enough; could stay for another day to continue discussing ways of dealing with issues."

These three EREL courses are the basic delegates' training courses. NZNO's board of directors has determined that all NZNO delegates should receive this training within the first 18 months of being elected a delegate.

NZNO educators keep a database on who has been trained and who still requires this training. When this training is being run, we send invitations to each delegate who requires it. We then repeat the invitations until delegates have completed the training.

We try to tailor some of this training to particular sectors, eg aged care, district health boards, private hospitals, etc. These courses are identified in our programmes and invitations.

* Advanced Delegates Training: When you have completed the three basic delegates' training courses, you are eligible to attend advanced training. We run a two-day advanced delegates' training course. On day one of the advanced course, delegates choose a project and develop it. They then return to their workplaces and attempt to carry out the project over a four-week period. On day two, delegates report back and we evaluate the project outcomes.

"This day needs more effective publicising. It is really worthwhile and the amount of information that is shared is amazing. Often you just don't know what you don't know. The networking is an added bonus."

Other approved training courses include one-day courses on dealing with disciplinary issues and another on negotiating skills. Health and safety training is now being run separately for representatives elected under the new health and safety legislation.

So, what stops people from attending these EREL courses? "My boss won't let me." The ERA states that unless your boss is able to show "on reasonable grounds that attendance at the EREL course would unreasonably disrupt the employer's business", then you are able to attend, provided the minimum 14 days' notice has been given.

Other reasons given for not attending delegate training include: "I've been a delegate for years so I don't need training" and "I've done this before, years ago." The educators believe you can always build on your repertoire of delegate skills, so why not come and learn something new? Senior delegates can play a vital role in supporting new delegates by sharing their knowledge and experience--that is an excellent reason to attend.

There are other reasons for senior delegates to attend training. If you have not done training since 2001, then you may not be informed about recent legislative changes like the ERA and the new health and safety legislation. You also need training on how to use your most recent collective employment agreement for the benefit of members. The EREL courses provide opportunities to share information about workplaces, which other delegates really appreciate.

All our members are entitled to be informed and kept up to date by their delegates. Training is only offered to delegates and members need their delegates to pass it on. As one delegate said: "It's a pity all employees couldn't attend these days. I guess that's what makes effective feedback so important."

Please note that attendance at EREL courses is completely separate from other study day entitlements and cannot be offset against those entitlements. The ERA entitles you to EREL training, so please take advantage of your legal entitlements.