The SSTUWA has led the fight for better pay and conditions for members in schools and TAFEs as well as campaigns such as Give the Cap the Boot, Every School Every Child and Rebuild with TAFE, dedicated to defending our public schools and colleges.
Senior officers
The union’s senior officers are:
President: Matt Jarman
Senior Vice President: Natalie Blewitt
Vice President: Sharmila Nagar
General Secretary: Mary Franklyn
Senior officers are elected by members and lead the SSTUWA’s advocacy and lobbying processes, developing and implementing policy under the guidance of member elected union State Council and Executive.
Campaigns
Promoting the benefits of properly funded and accessible public education for all is a key area of the SSTUWA’s operations. Our team runs initiatives to ensure issues which impact on our members and on students of all ages are kept at the forefront of the community’s mind.
Reps
We have SSTUWA reps in schools across the state. They are your first port of call for assistance. Reps have access to a range of support from the union experts and can often resolve local issues on the spot. Union reps get extensive training from the SSTUWA. If you want to find out more about becoming a rep please have a chat with your organiser, call the SSTUWA or visit the Getting Organised section of our website.
Member Assist
Full-time Member Assist staff are supported by a team of organisers, advocates and legal advisors in offering advice to members during business hours. Each year the Member Assist team handles around 6,000 phone enquiries and about 4,000 emails on issues ranging from working conditions to WHS matters and grievances.
Growth Team
New to teaching, or want to join the union? Our Growth Team has all the information and support you need to make it through those difficult early years of your career. Our New Educator Network offers dedicated professional development and most importantly an environment where you can talk to people who have been through, or are having, the same experiences as you.
Organisers
Our organisers cover all schools within allocated districts, offering support to union reps and members in schools and on campuses.
Click here to find which district you are in.
The union also has specialist organisers for leaders, women and work health and safety, offering top class expertise and experience in these specific areas.
Case managers
If your issue is complex then you will be referred to a case manager. We have three experienced case managers who will give your issue the attention it deserves.
Legal advisors
Our in-house legal advisors advocate in the courts and in tribunals for the SSTUWA. This can be on issues for individual members or during cases which represent the interest of the membership as a whole, such as interpretation of awards and attempts to reduce members’ entitlements.
Our legal advisors also act in concert with our contracted law firms.
Education and training
The SSTUWA offers the best industrial and professional education and training in Australia. This training is heavily discounted for members. Courses range from how to apply for a job to high-level professional development, in addition to a full range of industrial training for reps and in work health and safety.
Our Education and Training Centre also coordinates conferences and events which offer members access to some of the world’s best education thinkers and leaders.
Courses are available throughout the year both in term-time and during school holidays.
Online
Our website offers members a one-stop shop for immediate advice and updates on the latest news regarding the profession.
You can find information sheets, the relevant agreement for your area and a host of other advice on speciality areas such as work health and safety, women’s issues, TAFE, leaders, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and LGBTIQ+.
You can also check out the massive range of member benefits and get instant access to discounts on a range of goods and services. From educational resources to discounted insurances, travel bargains to movie tickets, there’s something for everyone.
Facebook and Instagram
Keep in touch with your colleagues and the latest news and views via Facebook and Instagram. Our regular updates link you with your peers. There are also closed Facebook groups for specific areas including New Educators and Early Childhood Education. Connect with us: @sstuwa
Playing a leadership role in unionism and education
In 1898 what is now the SSTUWA began its life with 50 members. Since that time the union has played a leadership role in unionism and in education in this state.
The union’s rules state that it must watch over and protect the interests of its members, and that it must promote education. These first two objects of the union make clear that it combines a commitment to ensuring industrial control over the working conditions and rights of members with a broader commitment to be fully involved in the professional rights and interests of members as well as in matters of social justice and equity in which education plays a central role.
The SSTUWA is as strong as its members. Through the collective strength and wisdom of members we can be powerful and influential in the community. Through our democratic processes at branch, District Council, Executive and State Council we can ensure that our decision making and our action is inclusive, representative and powerful.
The SSTUWA has a commitment to a strong public education system which provides every child with the right to a quality education. Our commitment to social justice and equity demands a fair go for every child and young person.
Ultimately our ability as educators to ensure those rights depends on our collective strength in the industrial and professional arenas. It is that collective strength which can ensure our rights as educators are respected, our wisdom valued and our experience central to all decisions on education matters. Membership, active and involved membership, is the only way to ensure that collective strength.
Members shall abide by the following SSTUWA Code of Ethics
1. Members shall acknowledge the authority and responsibility of the union.
2. Members shall support and assist in raising the standard of the teaching profession.
3. Members shall be loyal to other members and refrain from discussing other members in the hearing of the public.
4. Members should not seek to compare themselves publicly with other teachers to their own advantage.
5. Members shall not falsely, maliciously or recklessly injure or attempt to injure, whether directly or indirectly, the professional reputation or prospects of another member.
6. Members shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner and shall not issue anonymous public statements.
7. Members shall show due consideration for their successors.
8. Members shall zealously guard their civil rights and those of the students in their schools.
9. Members shall guide their students to attain the highest possible level of academic, social moral and physical achievement.
10. Members shall deal justly, respectfully and reasonably with students.
11. Members shall exercise discretion in dealing with confidential matters relating to students and their parents.
12. Executive members shall act as exemplars for all members in their adherence to the Code of Ethics.
