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Mark Morey – Special Projects Officer

	Mark Morey
	Special Projects Officer

Mark Morey commenced in the role of Special Projects Officer, responsible for the Productive Diversity Project, in August 2000. He replaced Deirdre Mahoney who took a position as an Industrial Reporter at Australian Business Limited’s Workplace Information magazine.

The aim of the Productive Diversity Program is to increase the utilisation of migrants’ overseas skills and qualifications in the workplace. The NSW Department of Education and Training (DET) fund the Productive Diversity Program across four sectors – the Labor Council, Australian Business Limited, the NSW Premier’s Department and in two regional areas. Productive diversity provides an opportunity for unions to develop organising and servicing strategies to target current and potential non-English speaking background (NESB) members.

Productive diversity or cultural diversity as it is sometimes called, has various definitions. Generally speaking it is a way of valuing the cultural diversity within the Australian community, recognising the skills within that diverse community, utilising these skills for the benefit of industry, individuals and the country; and increasing the utilisation of overseas gained skills and qualifications in the workplace. It provides a framework from which unions can develop strategies that enable them to target specific cultural groups within a workplace in a meaningful and culturally appropriate manner. It also enables unions to better reflect the diversity of their membership and the workforces they cover.

Special Projects successfully completed in 2000 included:

• The provision of Productive Diversity training to unions
• The completion of the Steric Pty Limited Diversity Pilot Project Workforce Survey, a joint Project between Australian Business Limited and the Labor Council. The final report was presented to Steric in March 2000
• The completion of a profile of NESB workers across NSW industries
• The identification of case examples of Productive Diversity and the promotion of best practice
• The development and distribution of “Fact Sheets”; and publishing articles and profiles in Workers Online and other relevant publications and;
• The finalisation of the review of the Productive Diversity training manual “Organising for Productive Diversity: A Resource Kit for Unions and Organisers”

Building on this years work, the Labor Council has identified four priority areas of focus for Mark to concentrate on in 2001. These areas include:

• Research – undertaking research of the NSW workforce and unions in order to assist in the development of organising and servicing strategies to increase the use of overseas skills and qualifications within the workforce.
• Training – providing training to unions in order to support their work with current and potential members from a non-English speaking background.
• Change Management – to facilitate the development of strategies that will assist unions to effectively meet the needs of current and potential non-English speaking background members within their workplaces.
• Information and Promotion – to provide unions and business with information on the effectiveness and benefits of productive diversity whilst expanding networks with migrant community groups and employer organisations.

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© Unions NSW 2001.
Unions NSW
Level 3, 4-10 Goulburn St,
Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: (02) 9881 5999 Fax: (02) 9261 3505

URL: http://council.labor.net.au/annual_reports/2000/ar2000-Mark-2.html
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