In focus:
The outgoing Federal Secretary of the Independent Education Union of Australia (IEUA), Christine Cooper, reflects on her experiences of building a strong union, writes Emily Campbell. Despite her career in the non-government education sector, Christine never intended to pursue a career as a teacher nor as a union leader but was hoping to become a scientist.
Aspiring scientist to teacher
“Teaching wasn’t my first career choice; I actually wanted to go into science research at the CSIRO, something like animal health and nutrition,” Christine said.
“However, McAuley College, now known as the Australian Catholic University (ACU), was offering a new course for secondary education, so having finished my degree in Rural Technology, I applied for that.
“I worked as a preservice teacher at St Laurence’s College in South Brisbane, before gaining a position as a graduate teacher there.”
At St Laurence’s College, Christine developed a love for teaching and was also introduced to the union movement and its values.
“I found that I loved being a teacher, so while it wasn’t my first career choice, I realised the value of being a teacher and the interactions with students,” she said.
“At St Laurence’s, I taught science and religion for five years from 1986 to 1990 and enjoyed the opportunities it provided to me as well as the strong support of the teaching community.
“The school had a very strong union presence, and it was here where I learnt the value of unionism and what it meant to be part of an active chapter culture.
“I am ever grateful for my years working with the St Laurence’s Chapter as it set me on my path in developing strong union values.
“Eventually I moved to Bundaberg for a change and secured work at Shalom Catholic College, where I taught between 1991 and 1995.
“Shalom College was another great school to work in though very different from working at an all-boys’ school as it was co-educational.
“Again, I was fortunate to work with a well-formed and strong union chapter.”
It was at a time when staff were faced with potential restructuring and associated impact on staffing numbers that Christine learnt again the value of collective support.
“It was the Shalom College Chapter that provided the staff with the necessary voice in discussions with the diocese and the school administration,” she said.
“Without our chapter, staff would have been left to feel the worry of job insecurity alone.”
Christine said at that stage she learned that good school leadership was not fearful of a union chapter’s voice; they saw it as a constructive way of resolving issues.
“I commend the leadership back then, because our employer talked with us, consulted us about potential change,” she said.
“Importantly they weren’t scared of the chapter and didn’t try to shut us down.
“Over the past decades, I have come to learn that when a school leader is secure in themselves, they are open to listening to a union chapter and are generally better at dispute resolution,” she said.
“I have also come to learn that as union members we must teach others to respect us and treat us professionally.
“We do this by acting collectively and ensuring our voices are united.”
Transition from teaching to union official
In addition to her role as a teacher and Chapter Rep, Christine became more actively involved in our union.
Between 1990 and 1994, Christine served as the General Representative for the Wide Bay region to the Council of the Queensland branch of the IEUA, before being elected President of the Queensland branch in 1994.
“Then as things happened, I made a choice to step into our union as an official,” Christine said.
“It wasn’t a decision made because I wanted to leave teaching, but because I found that employers kept asking more and more of us as teachers, even back then, so it was time to fight for change at a different level.
“I thought I’ll do this for a while and eventually return to teaching, but as you can see, the need to fight for our members’ working conditions has never gone away.
“When I began working in the office, enterprise bargaining had only just started, and my first role was as an Enterprise Bargaining Project Officer.
“Following that, I was employed as a Branch Organiser with responsibilities for Catholic and independent schools in the Bayside region of Brisbane.”
In 2004, Christine was elected as Assistant Secretary/Treasurer for the Queensland and Northern Territory Branch (IEU-QNT) and then in 2008, Christine was elected to the federal office, as IEUA Assistant Federal Secretary.
Christine held the position of IEUA Federal Secretary upon the retirement of her predecessor Chris Watt.
“In each of my different roles working in our union, the level of responsibility has increased, but the fundamentals remain the same: to work collectively with IEU members so that together we achieve our goals,” Christine said.
Difficult decade under Coalition
Christine said one of the most challenging aspects during her time in the IEU federal office has been trying to enact positive change for members and the broader education sector during the tenure of the previous coalition federal government.
“It is a challenging thing when the doors are shut in your face,” Christine said.
“Trying to get the previous coalition government to listen to us and understand so we can make a difference was extremely difficult in this role.
“Their lack of respect for our professional voice was one of the significant reasons the education sector is in crisis with teacher shortages and workloads.
“The ever-increasing emphasis on teachers proving their worth and their quality’ has eroded the profession.
“While members struggled across the country with workload intensification, it was demanded they prove their quality, fill out this form, duplicate that data.
“None of this has made any tangible improvement to student outcomes, but it has eroded the trust in our profession and forced teachers to jump through hoops to prove that they have what it takes to do the job.
“The coalition government relied on advice from actors external to education and the realities faced by our members in schools.
“As a result of our union being sidelined and ignored by the coalition, education policies implemented over the past decade fail to support the professional practice of education professionals.
“Every new and shiny idea the federal coalition government came up with wasn’t in consultation with the profession, and then when it inevitably failed, they claimed it was the fault of teachers.
“Add to this, our industrial relations laws and bargaining system prevented us from having a voice and bargaining on an equal playing field.
“Despite these obstacles, our union fought hard and loud during the past decade to push back on the coalition policies and we are proud of the wins we made during that time,” she said.
New government a ‘breath of fresh air’
However, Christine said the recent change in federal government has brought hope for opportunity and for change.
“It’s a breath of fresh air that the views of education unions are now being genuinely listened to and considered by the government and we are becoming more central in the conversations, and we hold very strong expectations on the federal government to deliver,” she said.
“We have been included in numerous federal government consultations: the Job and Skills Summit, the Teacher Workforce Strategy Action Plan round-table and the Early Years Learning Summit, to name just a few.
“It is a huge change, to work with a government that wants our input.
“This federal government wants to know what our members think and what they’re experiencing, so it’s a privilege to have been able to represent their voices at a peak level,” Christine said.
Highlights and successes
The past decades have provided many challenges and opportunities for Christine, but she maintains every bit has been a privilege.
“Having the opportunity to represent our members, work alongside exceptionally professional union officers, collectively fight for and celebrate our wins for quality education is what it has all been about,” Christine said.
“I was recently invited to speak at the NSW/ACT Catholic schools strike rally and when I climbed up onto the podium to speak, I was just in awe, the crowd was packed with more than 2000 IEU members wearing yellow t-shirts.
“When the members turn out together to fight for their issues; no matter how hard that fight is, it’s a privilege to be a part of that fight.”
Another highlight of Christine’s work has been the work of the IEU Federal Women and Equity committee and the establishment of BOLD (Building Our Leadership Development) women’s movement.
“BOLD is all about women stepping up to demonstrate active leadership in our union.
“Leadership is not simply a position as such; leading is a verb, so it is about taking action, supporting other women and making a change.
“The BOLD movement within and across our IEU branches has already delivered some great outcomes to our members and to our union structures.
“Our union’s work on the international front, particularly in the Pacific for the Council of Pacific Education (COPE) has been inspiring,” Christine said.
COPE, as part of Education International, is the organisation of teacher unions/organisations in the Pacific comprising of 19 affiliates from 11 countries in the region. Every three years, the IEU supports COPE in the development and delivery of the regional women’s workshop. For the past 14 years, Christine has held the position of Assistant to the Women’s Network Coordinator on the COPE executive.
“I’ve been very fortunate to support several women in that role and it’s a delight to see them finding their feet as women leaders in their union or COPE.“I have learnt a lot from my Pacific sisters about strength and resilience and will always be grateful for their solidarity and support.”
Looking ahead
Christine said she is optimistic about the future for our union, for the wider union movement and the education sector.
“Our union is well placed to secure a positive future for our members and for the profession.
“Our members are focused on delivering high-quality education, that’s what they’re about, and they demand the professional and industrial conditions that will support them,” she said.
“It is with our members, our branches and our union staff where our hope lies for a stronger decade.
“I’d like to commend the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) on the recent Better Jobs, Secure Work campaign for pushing the new government to accept the urgent need to change Australia’s IR laws,” she said.
Christine said our successes are always incremental wins, layer upon layer, whether at the bargaining table with employers or lobbying politicians.
“There still needs to be more change, and that’s always going to be the case, and we are ready as always to fight for better conditions.
“As one of our Chapters taught me back when I was an organiser years ago, whether we win or lose, we must always have a go”.
“I think as a union, that’s pretty much what we have always done, and what we will continue to do,” she said.