SSTUWA - State School Teachers' Union of Western Australia

Member Assist

Member Assist is currently staffed by Frank, Helena and Meaghan, who work within the centre full time. Duty Organisers work on a rotating roster for advice and consultation on industrial issues confronting members, 8.30am to 4.15pm, Monday to Friday on 9210 6060 (metro) or 1800 106 683 (country) or by sending an email through this contact link: Member Assist Email Form

Union Representatives and members alike have familiarised themselves with the service, utilising it for not only quick and accurate industrial information, but for other purposes such as organising legal referrals, requesting information pamphlets, sending industrial email enquiries, Agreement questions and other general industrial issues or concerns which they might have.

All members should utilise this service for the benefit of their own empowerment and knowledge of their rights, entitlements and conditions as Teachers/Lecturers in Western Australian State Schools, Colleges and TAFE.

Need to contact someone at the Union?

Call Member Assist.  But you need to know that if you call us on a Monday morning there are generally industrial, organisers and ‘All Staff’ strategic planning meetings scheduled regularly in this timeslot so please be patient. Mondays are always busy days at the SSTUWA.

Professional Development outside of school hours.

No teacher should be forced to do Professional Development outside of school hours.

You are absolutely entitled to trade off the PD days scheduled for the end of the school year in your own time, but you should also be allowed to do PD on these days if that’s what you wish to do.  Please contact Member Assist should you have any difficulties in this area.

Make sure that you contact us for your referral in advance.

Slater and Gordon have a high volume of work and will usually take time to action your referral.  The solicitors will generally contact you within 2 days of your referral being sent from the Union.  Ensure that your contact details are up to date and that you contact Member Assist with plenty of time in hand to have your legal issue addressed accordingly.

Got a grievance?

Contact Member Assist.  We have level 1 and 2 Grievance pro-forma letters which are available for members to use when formulating their letters.  You can simply use the format/template as a guide.  When you have finished, send it back to us and we will do a final check of it before submitting to the grievance panel.

A general guide for communicating with DET:

Realistically, telephone contact with DET can be a frustrating and unenlightening experience.  Here are a few suggestions for dealing with the Department to achieve your desired outcomes:

• Write a letter or an email to the relevant section of the Department.
• Outline your issues specifically, including the resolution that you are seeking from the Department.
• Ask that you receive a response in writing within 10 – 14 working days.
• Inform them that you are a Union member and that you have or will be seeking SSTUWA advice or legal representation should the Department not address your issues satisfactorily.
• Ensure that you keep copies of all correspondence sent to and received from the Department.  This way, you have an effective paper trail which can be produced as evidence should you have issues or run into problems.

If you do have trouble dealing with the Department after initiating the above process, contact Member Assist for further consultation and action on 9210 6060 (metro) or 1800 106 683 (country)