Last month the USU participated in Market Day at the ANU.
Market Day is run by the ANU’s Students’ Association during orientation week that occurs before each semester. The day is an opportunity for associated student organisations to talk to new students and to let them know the events and activities they conduct. External organisations relevant to students also have a presence during the day providing information on a range of topics from banking to health and wellbeing services.
The USU’s presence at orientation weeks is part of our efforts to introduce unionism to university students before they graduate. By informing students of their potential future union, we can assist in preventing the decline of union membership, which is especially apparent in younger generations. Going to places where young people are, will assist in normalising the unions presence in these spaces and aligns with the USU’s growth strategy.
The interest in the USU and the information we were providing over the day was considerable.
Many conversations were simply informing students what a union was and what we do as a movement. A particular focus was made towards law students as part of the USU’s wider campaign to improve the culture of legal workplaces by discussing topics like overwork, unpaid overtime, strategies to prevent workplace harassment and the opportunity to intern at Caroll & O’Dea Lawyers. Student memberships were also advertised, which provide an opportunity for students to be a part of the union and receive some of the benefits of being a member. Overall, the day was a great success and we would like to the thank the ANU’s Students Association for having us.
