atw: Re: Rates and associations

Join and help do it then.

-----Original Message-----
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of HALL Bill
Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2003 1:43 PM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Rates and associations


Although I am not in the scrum fighting for a limited amount of work in
the=  TW market (I've been working for the one employer for nearly 14
years, and=  have largely moved into the corporate knowledge management
area), I have b= een following the recent discussions on rates,
professional associations an= d collective action with some interest. I
have also been happy to see some = contributions from our Kiwi
colleagues - having recently done a professiona= l tour of their
fortunate islands.

Basically, the Kiwi's seem to have organised their profession far more
effe= ctively than we in Australia have - with two NATIONAL associations
that app= arently cooperate closely in many areas - despite a similar
tyranny of dist= ance that we face. Distances between Auckland,
Wellington and Christchurch = are comparable to those between Sydney,
Melbourne and Adelaide. However, in=  Australia, we basically have two
city based associations that are sometime= s doing well to get 15 people
to attend a meeting (I've been to one Sydney = meeting and a few in
Melbourne) - with a third association for the few peop= le that have
some allegiance with the US-Based Society of Technical Writers= . I am
not a member of any of these associations because I live in the coun=
try and work on the wrong side of town to attend Melbourne meetings, and
no= ne of them enough critical mass to offer a value for money
proposition that=  impels me to join one of them.

Yet, in New Zealand, with a population of 4,000,000 people, their
national = based organizations are able to cooperate to put together
good enough progr= ams that I am seriously considering joining TCANZ in
preference to an Austr= alian association.

What I don't understand (as an expat American, now an Aussie like many
othe= r migrants) is why, with a population 5 times the size of NZ, we
can't orga= nise a single association with enough clout to deal
effectively with some o= f the issues discussed in these recent threads.
I'm not pro union, but ther= e is a lot to be said for certification of
credentials/experience, rates su= rveys, and other support services to
help win a decent rate of pay for what=  is genuinely skilled knowledge
work.

Yes, it is nice to have local meetings - but I note that the Kiwi's have
no=  problems doing that within their national associations. We have
local meet= ings and little else, the Kiwi's have a national structure
that appears to = be providing valuable services for its members in
terms of professional edu= cation, sharing of experience and helping to
improve working conditions.

I think it is time for our three Aussie groups to work seriously to form
a = national body to advance the profession.

Regards,

Bill Hall

Documentation Systems Analyst
Head Office, Engineering
Tenix Defense
Williamstown, Vic. 3016
Phone: 03 9244 4820
Email:bill.hall@xxxxxxxxx
URL: http://www.tenix.com

Honorary Research Fellow
Knowledge Management Lab
School of Information Management & Systems
Monash University
Caulfield East, Vic. 3145
Phone: 03 9903 1883
Email: william.hall@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
URL: http://www.sims.monash.edu.au/research/km/
=20
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