United magazine • Summer 2021

MEET SINEAD OUTSTANDING NOMINEE
FOR 2021 DELEGATE OF THE YEAR
On November 10 our national union the Australian Services Union held their Award ceremony for Delegate of the
Year. Our outstanding Delegate Sinead Francis Coen was nominated. The ceremony was held at a live online event
and while Sinead did not take out the top gong she was recognised for her amazing contribution to the union and
our members. Congratulations Sinaed.
Sinead has been a very active
Delegate for Wine Selectors, a familyowned
business based in Newcastle,
for around 4 years.
When Sinead became the delegate
in 2017 there were approximately 3
union members in a Contact Centre
of approximately 45 people.
Sinead immediately began working to
recruit in the workplace through discussions
with potential members and
meeting with her organiser and potential
members in coffee shop chats
in a coffee shop down the road from
her workplace. However, she soon
found herself to be singled out by her
manager who began trying to discipline
her for speaking to employees
about union matters in work time.
Working through the issues
One by one Sinead and her Organiser
worked through the issues with the
company and reminded them of
Sinead’s right to speak to people
about benefits of the union and
promised this would be done in employees’
lunchbreaks.
Despite the ebb and flow of union
members Sinead continued to take
up general matters on behalf of union
members to her employer, articulating
to her General Manager issues
which consisted mainly due to a lack
of training and lack of consultation.
Through this, she was able to set up
a communication channel with her
General Manager and held consultation
meetings both with him and
her Team Manager to bring to their
attention and resolve important
member issues.
Sinead attended union training
through the USU and started to embark
on mapping the workplace to
work on her campaign to recruit.
Covid Lockdown
In March 2020 thanks to COVID 19,
Wine Selectors went into lockdown,
and everyone was packed up and
sent home. They have remained
working from home ever since. In
December 2020, Wine Selectors
closed down their Hunter Street
Office in Newcastle and redirected
all employees to become remote
employees.
This posed a challenge for Sinead in
being able to get in touch with other
Wine Selectors teams.
Sinead started sending out an email
to her team members to see how
they were and set up Zoom meetings
Sinead Francis Coen
is an outstanding
Delegate:
“Her energy and
tenacity and ability
to pick herself
up and try and
think outside the
box when faced
with adversity is
to be admired.”
with each of them to see how they
were and talk about benefits of union
membership.
Online meeting groups a hit
Sinead and her Organiser set up a series
of Zoom meetings which proved
to be an immediate hit. People felt
comfortable speaking in this forum.
Union Membership went up and
Sinead continued to invite people to
come to future meetings.
Sinead has discovered that through
digital communication she has unlocked
a way for people to openly
communicate and also took advantage
of the USU’s lunch and learn sessions
during the COVID lockdown.
Sinead’s courage to continue to stand
up for her members is remarkable.
Her energy and tenacity and ability to
pick herself up and try and think outside
the box when faced with adversity
is to be admired.
30 • United Summer 2021