Throughout the month of June and into early July I was offered the opportunity to intern for the Professional Verifiers Institute. I was excited to gain experience in employment relations
Catherine with Dizzy
and find out more about the many roles unions play. As I am currently studying towards my Bachelor of Law I was looking forward to seeing this experience from a legal perspective.
My main tasks over the five weeks involved general administration and special case research. This was a great opportunity to apply some of my legal skills to real life situations. I was also lucky enough to get a chance to travel to Wellington with Paul and Martin to meet with NZVA and MPI. It was a great chance to see the relationship between unions, employees and employers. I really enjoyed seeing the way the ‘professional’ rather than the ‘industrial’ approach was carried out.
This experience has really changed my perception of unions. I believe that public perception is dated and I hope that it will change as we move forward. I really enjoyed gaining experience as a progressive representative and applying the skills I have learnt so far in my degree to practical situations. I gained a better understanding of what it takes to build good employment relationships and realised how complex and challenging those relationships can be.
Catherine McNeill