2024 Anna Stewart Memorial Project
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 129 No 6 , 23 August 2024, page 21.
It’s a curious question which comes up every year: “So, what is the Anna Stewart Memorial Project?”
Anyone who visits the head office of the QTU in Milton will be familiar with the board displaying the names of the QTU participants. Many of those Annas (as they are known across the union movement) have become Officers, Organisers or Presidential Officers of the QTU. You will even find a current Deputy-General Secretary and General Secretary on that board.
All those listed have been part of a project with a proud history of facilitating greater involvement of women in the union movement through developing their knowledge, skills and confidence. Over a two-week period, each union hosts their own participants, before welcoming one or more from other affiliated unions. This allows the Annas to learn more about their own union’s structures, processes and daily work, before heading out to see how other unions do business.
It takes a team of dedicated officers and staff to ensure that all Annas, be they QTU or visiting, feel supported and enlivened by their experience.
This year, the QTU hosted two fierce QTU women, Amanda Power and Skye Vass.
Skye Vass is a proud Gunggandji, Juru and Butchulla woman. She has been teaching at Balaclava State School for 11 years. Skye is President of the Cairns Branch, a member of Gandu Jarjum, and a Workplace Rep who is proud to say that her school has 100 per cent QTU membership.
Looking back on the experience, Skye said: “The biggest challenge I found was interacting with people in an unfamiliar industry. But I discovered that, just like with QTU members, connecting first on a personal level and finding common ground is most important before discussing workplace or union business.”
Amanda Power is a Djaara and Bangerang person and her country is around Bendigo and Shepparton respectively. Amanda has been teaching since 1997 and is currently at Clinton State School. Amanda is the Chair of Gandu Jarjum, a member of QTU Executive, State Council and CQ Area Council, a Workplace Rep and a First Nations Contact.
She said: “I have seen how big the QTU really is and how important everyone’s job is in ensuring their piece of the puzzle is in place to create the whole picture. I got to see how every person brings something different and how they support, check in and stand by each other to get the job done for members.”
The QTU hosted two more incredible Annas in the second week of the project.
Clarissa is a train guard of six years and a proud member of the Rail Tram and Bus Union. Clarissa remarked that her time with the QTU was eye-opening, providing insights into the challenges of the teaching profession.
“I have gained immense appreciation for the complexities that teachers face daily. The profession is marked by intricate issues that often aren’t easily solved. From grappling with teacher shortages to navigating student behaviour and supporting students with special needs, teachers endure significant challenges.”
Mel, a paramedic of 20 years and proud member of the United Workers Union, drew parallels between her union and ours and described feeling welcomed and included.
“From every interaction I learned something. I feel reinvigorated in my own space, taking away so many ideas. It has been so refreshing to see both a value in the history of the QTU alongside the forward movement and innovation being fought for so passionately.”
The project is named in honour of Anna Stewart, a Victorian union official who in the 1970s led many of the first campaigns for maternity and childcare facilities for workers in traditionally male industries. She was fierce, she fought hard, she made it clear that sexual harassment is a workplace issue, and she argued equal pay cases in industrial tribunals.
Nominations for the 2025 Anna Stewart Memorial Project will be advertised in the final Journal of this year.
Gillian Crotty
Assistant Secretary, Women’s and Social Welfare Issues
