WA Division www.nteu.org.au/wa Division Officers WA Division Secretary: Jonathan Hallett Division Assistant Secretaries: Richard Hamilton (Academic), Corinna Worth (General) Division President: Catherine Moore Division Vice-President: Sam Green
Division Staff Senior State Organisers: Donna Shepherdson, Paul Benson (leave coverage, April to June 2020) Industrial Officers: Katherine Morison (to March 2020), Simona Grieco (to April 2020), Joe Fiala (from April 2020), Nashell Ireland (from June 2020) Division Organisers: Eileen Glynn, Raechel Smith, Ryan Costello (to July 2020), Beth Cole (on extended leave from Dec 2019), Claire McKinnon (from Dec 2019), Phil Chilton (from April 2020), Henry Booth (from Oct 2020) Member Services Officer: Jayne van Dalen
The Western Australia Division represents just over 2,600 members at the four public universities in WA: Curtin University, Edith Cowan University (ECU), Murdoch University and the University of Western Australia (UWA) as well as the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA). The Division also represents members at Student Unions at all the four public universities, Research Institutes (largely affiliated with UWA) and private providers such as Navitas. A year of extraordinary change, challenge and growth We have continued the reorientation of the WA Division towards an organising model at Branches and bedding down the new staffing structure and roles adopted mid-2019. We completed a review of industrial servicing in the Division with outcomes including changes to databases and file management processes, realignment of some workplace issues to Branch-based staff and transition to new referral processes. Individual member queries for industrial advice and representation are now increasingly being directed towards our Member Services Team, freeing up our Organisers located on campus to work with delegates and members to take collective action and support local campaigns. Other staff professional development has included Mental Health First Aid and workplace
health and safety training. In addition, most Branch Presidents have completed training on deep organising, and this has continued to be rolled out further among other elected officers. The impact of COVID-19 and the loss of international student revenue has reverberated throughout the sector and Union. Responding to COVID-19 meant diverting much NTEU work online and internal adoption of new software and systems to maintain member support and activism. Staff and officers have rapidly developed new skills in digital organising and online collaboration. WA was fortunate to be able to implement return to campus COVID-19 Safety Plans ahead of the rest of the country with a comparatively short period of lockdown with NTEU staff working from home. The membership of the WA Division has significantly increased this last year in part due to a large boost during the initial stages of the crisis and then continued growth over recent months with Branch activity on poorly thought through change processes, excessive workloads and other attacks by management on jobs and working conditions. ECU Branch has done significant work in reviewing university policies and supporting members through challenges in working from home and returning to work post COVID-19 shutdowns. University of Notre Dame Australia enterprise bargaining progresses slowly in fits and starts and work with private providers has had a national focus on wage theft.
Image (this page): UWA Branch members, Feb 2020.
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NTEU ANNUAL REPORT 2020 â—† WA Division
