Spotlight on reps

Alison Lee

Emanuel School, Randwick

Inspired by the IEU’s successful ‘Now’s the Time’ pay rise campaign for teachers and professional and operational staff in independent schools, Alison Lee took on the role of co-rep at Emanuel School in Randwick, a preschool-to-Year 12 school for Jewish students, in late 2024.

“We wanted to get everyone signed on to the union’s petition [calling for a new bargaining stream], so I wanted to be part of that – I really wanted to be proactive in that area,” Alison said.

Members at the school are pleased with the successful outcome and have been encouraging others to join. “We’ve got really high union membership at our school, and it was a good step just for people to go, ‘oh yes, the union can actually make changes’,” Alison said. “So it’s more incentive for people to say, ‘Well, look at what we achieved, why don’t I join the union too?’ And we can give them that reason.”

In talking to potential members, Alison reminds them that they probably have home insurance and car insurance, so why not have work insurance as well. And the ‘Now’s the Time’ campaign means “they can see the direct success of the union”.

A HSIE teacher who is also head of library, Alison’s been an IEU member since she joined Emanuel School a few years ago, after teaching in Singapore. “I realised it was super important to join the union because, working with young people, you can be in a vulnerable position,” she said.

Alison also supports the union as a collective. “Being a member of the union is all about protecting yourself, but also about protecting your colleagues, and pushing for the rights of workers,” she said.

It takes two

Faye Katsoulas, Jacob Wills

St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, Strathfield South

Faye Katsoulas and Jacob Wills share the role of union rep at St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, Strathfield South. They tell us how they do it.

Faye Katsoulas, co-rep

Faye Katsoulas is a co-rep at St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, Strathfield South, where she teaches Year 2.

“I joined the IEU when I first came to my school, so it’s been five years now,” Faye says. “My school is very pro-union, and others really encouraged me to join initially, so that’s what made me join the union.”

Faye was also inspired by the ‘Hear our Voice’ campaign for teachers and support staff in Catholic systemic schools in 2022-23, which resulted in pay rises of 8%-12% for NSW teachers, 11%-19% for ACT teachers and 6.5%-20% for support staff.

“I saw a lot of change with the strikes – it was very impactful, and I really liked how much change came from it,” Faye says. “When one of our reps went on maternity leave, I took over and I’m really enjoying it.

“I put my hand up, I was happy to take it on board. I’m glad I’ve had my first year doing it.”

This year, Faye would like to see more release time for programming. “Having even half an hour to an hour extra a week would make such a big impact,” she says. “At a small school, we don’t have coordinators, so everyone kind of wears a lot of hats, so more RFF time would really support building the school up and getting more done.”

Jacob Wills, co-rep

Jacob (Jake) Wills is a teacher at St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, Strathfield South, where he teaches Year 3 part-time, and on other days “I am casual everywhere and I’m also release,”he says. Jake joined the IEU almost two years ago.

Feeling very supported by all staff at the school, Jake became co-rep with Faye so he could, in turn, support her. “We wear a lot of hats, and I felt that, I’m a graduate and I’m temporary, but I’ve been supported in every aspect,” he says. “So, I wanted to give back a little bit, and I thought I’ll do union repping with Faye, and I’ll just help as much as I can.”

Jake attended reps’ training with Faye in late 2024 so he could learn as much as possible about the rep’s role. He says more RFF at his school would make a difference. “It’s the big one,” he says. “We’re a small school, we have under 100 kids at the moment, and I would say a third of them have substantial needs.”

With so many students requiring support, Jake and Faye say they would welcome more diverse learning teachers and learning support officers.

The number of students at St Anne’s is expected to grow in 2025, and Jake and Faye also want more support for their EALD students (English as an additional language or dialect).

Sophie Cole

Central Coast Grammar School

New IEU rep Sophie Cole shares the role with a colleague, who has been in the position for many years. It’s a balance that works well for the English teacher at Central Coast Grammar School.

While she’s learning a lot from her co-rep, Sophie still had much to gain at a recent IEU reps’ training day. “I’m learning a lot – I think the scenarios that we’ve been provided with are really beneficial, because I’m able to see what kind of strategies and support we can offer,” she said.

Sophie became a rep about six months ago during the IEU’s ‘Now’s the Time’ campaign for pay rises for staff in independent schools.

“There was a lot of rallying within our school, and our current rep just needed a little bit of help, and she asked if I’d get on side,” Sophie said. “And that was how it started.”

After moving to Australia from the UK, Sophie joined the union as soon as she entered the workforce here. “Unions have always been a massive thing in England, so it was just an automatic thing for me when I came over to Australia, it was just a natural transition,” she said.

When Sophie approaches potential members about why they should join the IEU, she focuses on the value of support.

“It’s mainly about feeling that you have support behind you, and if you would like any advice, then you’ve got someone to go to who has your corner,” she said.

Workload is the pressing concern in Sophie’s chapter. It’s about “just trying to make sure there’s equity amongst the teams and trying to support each other and managing our expectations and our time within the school campus”, she said.

Workload transparency is key, Sophie added. “Probably the big thing for all the feedback that’s coming from my peers and my colleagues is just wanting to understand what the parameters are behind face-to-face hours,” she said.

Jonny Firth

St John XXIII Catholic College, Stanhope Gardens

Jonny Firth teaches PDHPE as well as VET fitness, helping students obtain a Certificate III in Fitness, at St John XXIII Catholic College in Stanhope Gardens.

He decided to become a rep after witnessing “the good of what the union was doing”.

The school has a strong union chapter and Jonny pointed to former rep Michael Power as a role model.

“I started working alongside him and then got elected to be co-rep with him,” he said.

Jonny’s father was a teacher, and he said he grew up in a household where “I had a really passionate male role model who was a great educator”.

“So, I always thought it might be something I go into,” he said.

After university, Jonny travelled to the United States and backpacked throughout Europe before returning to Australia where he fell in love with teaching.

Jonny has been a union member since joining the profession almost two decades ago.

“That comes from my father too, who was a union member through-and-through,” he said. “He’s from working class northern England, so he grew up with a whole family of strong union members.

“I saw the benefits of that so the first day I started teaching I joined.”

Jonny said the union provides a support network that fights for the rights of teachers for better working conditions, pay and “just making sure we’re being looked after”.

As a rep, Jonny said he hopes to share his passion for the union with other teachers and support younger members to access workplace entitlements or those who may be experiencing troubled times.

“Sometimes it’s just being someone they can talk to and someone they know if they need to have a challenging meeting, they know they have me to be a support person.”