SSTUWA President, Marko Vojkovic

I wish to announce my candidacy for the position of President of the SSTUWA as part of the Members First team.

I began teaching in 1993 after a career in the Petroleum Industry. I soon realized that teachers were not adequately paid for the work they did. I also experienced work conditions that would not be tolerated in any other profession. Instead of complaining about things, I decided to become a Union activist. In the 17 years that I have taught in the classroom, I have been the Union Representative or Deputy Representative for 11 of those years. I am currently on the SSTUWA Executive and am an elected teacher representative on the Board of WACOT. I attend State Council on a regular basis and am a strong advocate for State Education.

In 2008, Members First led the Vote No campaign against the Agreement in Principle which included trading in conditions for inequitable salary increases. Two thirds of voters rejected the AIP as a consequence. This led to teachers receiving the biggest across the board pay increases in 15 years and the removal of the 15 hours extra PD requirement. This campaign proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that teachers can get a better deal with strong leadership. If we bargain in good faith as equal partners with our employer, the teaching profession will once again become a viable career option for graduates.

I believe that teachers must be empowered. They must have a say in all facets of their work. Conditions, salaries, promotional pathways, curriculum change and behaviour management should all commence at the grassroots. We have all witnessed the disasters that occur when people who have not been in a classroom for over 10 years make decisions affecting our jobs. Teachers should be the catalyst for change.

I also believe in open and accountable leadership. I will keep members informed of developments as they happen and I will seek guidance from our members before decisions are made. The 2008 agreement gave teachers back some of the respect they had lost in the last 15 years, but there is so much more we need to achieve. We face violent and disruptive students on a daily basis without the necessary resources to deal with the problems underpinning their behaviour. Psychologists and counsellors are not expected to educate their patients so why are teachers expected to deal with students’ psychological problems? Our job is to teach. The classroom should be a place of learning, a safe place to nurture, not a battleground.

There are other issues which threaten the standing of teaching in the community. League tables of test results are absolutely counterproductive. To draw conclusions about quality of teaching from these tables is insulting and invalid. All teachers are well aware of the factors affecting academic achievement. To pretend that humiliating those who teach at underperforming schools will improve things shows a complete lack of understanding of the situation. I will oppose the publication of these test results at every opportunity.

In 2008, teachers in country and hard to staff schools received good allowances in the EBA, but the method used to calculate these allowances generated inequities. Some schools missed out when other schools close by did not. Correcting this absurd imbalance will be my first assignment if elected. In 2007, members voted MF for 14 out of 17 Executive positions. The result was the best EBA in 15 years. I call on those members who followed our leadership in the 2008 EBA negotiations to support us again in 2009 so we can finish the job we have started.

MF Documents

Members First Team