IEU reps from schools affiliated with The Anglican Schools Corporation joined us for reps training. They discussed ways of building strong chapters to increase bargaining power for all members.
Jess Castleden
St Luke’s Grammar School, Bayview
“If you’re going to be a teacher and you have this opportunity to be part of a union to support you, why wouldn’t you?”
Vicki McGrath
Penrith Anglican College, Orchard Hills
“If somebody comes to me with a question, I ask them first, ‘Are you in the union? You should join the union’.”
Louise McNerney
Claremont College, Randwick
“You would insure your car and your house. You also insure your rights as a worker.”
Benjamin Pearce
Mamre Anglican School, Kemps Creek
“Every time I come to an event such as reps training, it gives me a greater understanding of why the union is important.”
Jess Castleden – St Luke’s Grammar School, Bayview
Jess Castleden is a Year 6 teacher at St Luke’s Grammar School’s junior campus in Bayview.
Jess previously taught many of the children in Year 3, which had helped her to build a good rapport with parents. Jess said student behaviour and managing parents’ expectations are among the challenges she faces.
However, she said the school provides strong support through a restorative behaviour management approach, with a clear focus on practices that guide positive relationships.
Jess said parent-teacher meetings could extend into the evening, with preparation required during personal time. School camps were another example of time creep, with teachers receiving a small nominal allowance for a day that could start as early as 6am and extend until 2am.
“You might be supporting a wide range of student needs across the day,” she said. “It’s heaps of responsibility.”
Jess retrained as a teacher after working as a travel agent and running her own business for 20 years. “I absolutely love teaching,” she said. “I think there are so many benefits.”
“I worked from 7am to 10pm every day when I was running my own business. I never switched off.”
An IEU member since 2025, Jess likened joining the union to taking out travel insurance. “If you’re going to be a teacher and you have this opportunity to be part of a union to support you, why wouldn’t you?” she said.
Jess put up her hand to be the union rep at her school after the former rep – a close friend – indicated she was moving overseas. Jess said she hopes to learn more about the agreements that cover her colleagues so she can provide them with helpful advice.
Outside of school, Jess is an “Uber Mum” whose weekends are filled with driving five children to sport. “We go to the beach, we surf, we go bike riding,” she said. “It’s just all outdoorsy stuff.”
“If you’re going to be a teacher and you have this opportunity to be part of a union to support you, why wouldn’t you?”
Jess Castleden – Year 6 teacher
Vicki McGrath – Penrith Anglican College, Orchard Hills
Vicki McGrath is a co-rep at Penrith Anglican College, a pre-K to Year 12 school with about 1100 students and 130 staff, in Sydney’s west.
Vicki teaches Year 4, and shares repping duties with colleague Anil Thomas, who teaches in the secondary school. Now in her 30th year of teaching, Vicki has been an IEU member from the beginning of her teaching career.
“The rep at my first school cornered me on my first day on the job and said ‘you need to join the union’ – and so I did,” she said. “I never questioned why or thought about the cost – I figured if someone with her experience was telling me that being in the union was important, then it was something I should do.
“It was my best decision ever – because when you need them, you need them. It’s peace of mind.”
Vicki says the biggest challenge in her profession is workload. “I’d like to see programs shared more widely, so we’re not all reinventing the wheel constantly,” she said.
“If we could all work together collaboratively, we could really focus more on the students and less on the paperwork.”
Vicki and her co-rep Anil work closely together. “I send him off to the IEU Council meetings (although I am about to join him as a delegate for the Penrith-Blue Mountains Sub Branch), and I do the hardcore stuff at work,” she said.
“I am very prolific in emailing our members and strongly encouraging (some might say hounding) people to come to a chapter meeting.
“At the start of every year we run a meeting for everyone on staff who would like to learn more about the union and what it does. I tell everyone ‘you wouldn’t buy a house or car and not take out insurance, so why would you come to a school without the union having your back?’
“It’s not just about pay rises, it’s about support. If somebody comes to me with a question, I ask them first, ‘Are you in the union? You should join the union’.”
Vicki likes to recharge her batteries on a good cruise. Her favourite has been her Alaskan cruise. “The scenery and the quaint little villages and having orcas swimming beside the boat – it was so magical,” she said. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
A busy mum, Vicki said the best thing about cruising is “I don’t have to think about shopping, cleaning, cooking, ironing. The biggest issue I have is choosing from the menu.”
“If somebody comes to me with a question, I ask them first, ‘Are you in the union? You should join the union’.”
Vicki McGrath – Year 4 teacher
Louise McNerney – Claremont College, Randwick
Louise McNerney is the rep at Claremont College in Randwick, where she is a learning enrichment teacher. Claremont is a small primary school with about 255 students and 24 staff.
A teacher for more than 20 years and an IEU member for over a decade, Louise works with students experiencing learning disabilities, as well as students who are gifted.
“I love the banter and the humour from them, and the growth that I see from kindy to Year 6,” she said. “I see them from their starting point to where you send them off to high school. It’s a pretty special job.”
Louise grew up in Durban, South Africa, and lived in London for a decade. “My dad’s from north-east England, from ship builders and factory workers, and my mum’s side were all house builders and painters,” she said. “That worker mentality is strong in my bones.”
For Louise, becoming a rep “just felt like a natural process to follow”. Louise said IEU membership has provided her with great peace of mind and, as a rep, she aims to normalise union support.
“You would insure your car, and your house,” she said. “You also insure your rights as a worker.”
Louise came to the IEU’s reps training day so she could learn more. “I’m joining with some other reps from our schools to see what struggles we have in common,” she said.
Their biggest struggle is a familiar one to many IEU members: workload.
“Primary school teachers can sometimes fall into the trap of taking on more and more because the role is so broad,” Louise said. “Supporting students and contributing to the school community is central to why many of us do this work, so it can be difficult to know where the boundaries are or when it’s OK to say no.
“I think it’s important to normalise conversations about workload and wellbeing, and to recognise that teachers need support too in order to do their jobs sustainably.”
Outside of work, Louise loves running, and is thrilled her six-year-old son has started joining her in middle-distance and trail running, taking a keen interest in tracking his progress in mum’s and dad’s Garmin app.
“You would insure your car and your house. You also insure your rights as a worker.”
Louise McNerney – Claremont College, Randwick
Benjamin Pearce – Mamre Anglican School, Kemps Creek
Benjamin Pearce is a music teacher at Mamre Anglican School, a co-educational pre-K to Year 12 school in Kemps Creek.
A former Mamre student, Benjamin teaches both primary and secondary school students. Benjamin said the school had long been “quite sports-focused”, but a new creative arts facility has just opened. The new facilities have had a positive impact on students’ enthusiasm for music although there are some “whose focus is definitely outside the classroom”.
An IEU member since 2022, Benjamin said he joined the union “primarily, I guess, for my own protection”.
During negotiations for a new enterprise agreement, Benjamin said he came to realise that the union and the issues it fights for are “bigger than just me”.
“Every time I come to an event such as reps training, it gives me a greater understanding of why the union is important,” he said. Benjamin said his primary goal as a rep is to encourage his colleagues to join the union ahead of negotiations for a new enterprise agreement (EA).
He also wants to ensure the employer is held accountable to the terms of current agreements. Benjamin attended a training session for reps from schools covered by The Anglican Schools Corporation, which included a discussion of issues common to many school staff.
Benjamin singled out heavy workloads as a concern for both teachers and support staff. “We’ve got a solution for teachers in our workplace agreement that’s not necessarily complied with fully yet,” he said.
“But I think support staff across a lot of the schools are getting hammered and there are not a lot of protections in their agreements in terms of being overworked.”
Outside of school, Benjamin plays the trumpet with the Penrith Symphony Orchestra. He and his wife are also avid gamers: “We both play a lot of rocket league, which is car football.”
“Every time I come to an event such as reps training, it gives me a greater understanding of why the union is important.”
Benjamin Pearce – Mamre Anglican School, Kemps Creek
Reps Training
Are you a newly elected rep or has it been some time since you last did any union training? If so, register for reps training now to gain:
- an understanding of your rights and responsibilities as a rep
- strategies for running a successful chapter and for growing membership
- useful skills for supporting members
- an understanding of the current industrial landscape
- an overview of where you derive your entitlements.
To attend this training, you need to be officially recorded as a rep on the IEU database (check with your IEU organiser or call us on 8202 8900). We urge newly elected reps or reps who have not attended training in the previous 12 months to register.
We also offer advanced training for experienced reps looking to strengthen their skills in building strong chapters.
IEU reps are entitled to reasonable access to paid time during normal working hours for training relating to their role as a union delegate. Please contact the IEU if you experience any issues with accessing your leave entitlements.
Email repstraining@ieu.asn.au for more information or contact your school’s IEU organiser.
Published in the June 2026 edition of Newsmonth
