| SSTUWA Executive: Alen Kursar |
 My name is Alen Kursar and I am nominating to become a member of the SSTUWA Executive as a member of Members First. I am passionate about this union and will represent the membership as we work together to ensure the future of our profession, our union, the status of teachers and the protection of our working conditions.I have been in education for 18 years, having taught English and Media Studies and been an administrator in numerous metropolitan and country schools. I have also had extensive experience working with students at educational risk and in particular, students with behavioural problems. My current position sees me as a Secondary Deputy at Exmouth District High School. I have been a State Council delegate for 3 years and in this time have also been actively involved in union matters. I am currently a member of the SSTUWA Country Matters Working Party and the Administrator’s Reference Group. I have also been a member of the Disputes Resolution Committee. As a member of the Country Matters Working Party, I was actively involved in the successful Housing Campaign which became a key element of our negotiations in 2008. Having taught in rural and remote locations in the Pilbara, Midlands and Midwest districts, I am an advocate for rural and remote teachers and understand the predicament faced by our members in the country. We need to be heard and I will ensure our voice is loud. As a new face on the “Members First” ticket, I will ensure the voice of the membership is heard and acknowledged. I want to consistently focus on protecting the status of teachers, rewarding teachers with real salary increases and improving and protecting our working conditions to truly reflect our professionalism and our “core business” of teaching. Members First have been instrumental in opening communication channels to endeavour to create open and accountable leadership. The new SSTUWA website has been instrumental in providing a forum where every member can keep abreast of issues as they arise. The MF Executive has always kept members informed of developments as they happen and continue to seek guidance from members before making decisions. Members First were instrumental in delivering a General Agreement that delivered 22% salary increase with no trade offs, but the work does not stop. We now face a campaign that demands energy and commitment to continue to improve salaries, address workload issues and the image of teachers in our society. I strongly believe teachers have never worked as hard as they currently do, under constant pressure to meet unrealistic expectations and accountability measures placed on us by a visionless government and a series of bean counters which continue to take long teachers’ goodwill for granted. Teachers have continued to fall victim to the increasing rates of violence in schools and the continual attack on teachers by our own employer and its archaic HR strategies. I am committed to seeing teachers being valued as the true professionals we are for the complex work we do and to focus our energies on the core business of teaching. Together with the Members First team, we will provide our members with the voice, reason and passion needed to ensure a union which is focused on enhancing the status of teachers, continually improving salaries and protecting our working conditions, addressing the needs of the membership and the future of the profession. For the future our profession, Vote 1 Members First. |