Rep profile: Therese Holland, Annunciation Catholic Primary school

Tess is new to the Catholic education sector, but she brings a wealth of knowledge about EBAs and staff entitlements from her experience in government schools. Upon starting her new role, she immediately joined the IEU and became Rep.

Tess has made a strong impression in a short time – her Organiser says, ‘she’s awesome!’ She served as Rep for the AEU for a decade and felt ‘comfortable’ stepping into the role at Annunciation. She speaks positively about the position, noting the ‘strong solidarity amongst staff’.

Unsurprisingly, workload and salary are the main concerns raised by her members – reflecting trends across all Victorian schools.

‘Across both sectors, we continue to turn a blind eye to the fact that classroom teachers must put in several hours of work every Sunday afternoon and evening to prepare for the week ahead. I think we need a campaign to acknowledge that this is happening in teachers’ loungerooms across the state. It shocks my friends who are in other professions.’

The biggest difference Tess has observed between the government and Catholic sectors is in classroom culture – particularly among students.

‘In my Catholic Year 5 and 6 classes, values like kindness and inclusion seem to be woven into the classroom culture. At my previous government school, I found myself dealing with some pretty overt misogyny among the Year 6 cohort, which was challenging.’

Tess recommends that the IEU continue to support initiatives like whole-staff morning or afternoon teas as opportunities to promote union engagement.

Her advice to anyone considering becoming a Rep is simple: ‘Do it! It adds an interesting dimension to your work identity, and you have opportunities to build new connections with like-minded IEU Reps from other schools.’