John Battams

Interviewed by
Roger Scott, Chris Salisbury and Alexandra Gath
Jan 23 2014
John Battams

Unionist John Battams was the General Secretary of the Queensland Teachers Union for 21 years, from 1990-2011. A member of the QTU since 1976, he has been part of and witnessed many changes within the QTU and the teaching sector including the transformation of the QTU from a conservative, letter-writing organisation to a dynamic union. John Battams has been President of the Queensland Council of Unions since 2009.

Biography
Time Summary Keywords
00:00:00

John Battams discusses his childhood in Mackay, his parents and his early exposure to politics and unions. He summarises his time at university and his first job as a teacher.

 Catholics, Mackay, RSL, school teacher, University of Queensland
00:03:04

John Battams speaks about the background of his family and their political views in more detail.

 AWU, RSL
00:05:40

John Battams discusses his time at the University of Queensland, and his abstinence from political life at this point. He reflects on various demonstrations he participated in during this time.

 protest, QTU, University of Queensland
00:08:00

John Battams speaks about his first years as a teacher at Sandgate District State High School, and how he came to first be involved in the Queensland Teachers Union (QTU).

 Archie Bevis, Education Department, QTU
00:11:53

John Battams discusses his initial involvement with the QTU and his appointment as Branch President of North Brisbane in his first year of teaching. He details some of the officials of the QTU at this time.

 Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Lyle Schuntner, QTU, union membership
00:16:42

John Battams offers an insight on tensions and factions within the QTU during the 1970s and 1980s. He discusses the representations of different teachers within the QTU.

 Bob White, industrial disputes, Lyle Schuntner, QTU
00:22:05

John Battams lists the many honorary and official union positions he has held within the QTU, and describes the duties associated with these. He focusses on his ascent to General Secretary in 1990.

 Archie Bevis, John Rockett, QTU, union positions
00:26:41

John Battams relates the circumstances of the Moranbah Teachers' Strike in 1981, when sixty teachers went on strike for five days.

 Bjelke-Petersen Government 1968-87, industrial disputes, mining, QTU, school teacher, SEQEB dispute, unions
00:34:23

John Battams discusses the transformation of the QTU from a conservative union to a progressive, campaigning union.

 industrial disputes, John Rockett, QTU
00:35:49

John Battams describes the issues with government-provided teacher accommodation from the 1970s onwards. He discusses the Remote Area Incentive Scheme (RAIS) and the difficulty of ensuring equal, decent accommodation for teachers across the big state of Queensland.

 Borbidge Government 1996-98, industrial disputes, QTU, regions, school teacher, Woorabinda
00:40:01

John Battams lists some of the major industrial issues and campaigns that the QTU has been involved in during his time with the union, and specifically between the 1990s and the early 2000s.

 ACTU, Bligh Government 2007-12, industrial disputes, QTU, schools
00:46:01

John Battams describes some of the changes within the QTU that he supported, including increasing the number of union representatives, encouraging in-school campaigns and the creation of a Campaign Action Group (CAG).

 campaign strategy, QTU, union campaigns
00:51:33

John Battams speaks about the Presidents of the QTU that he has worked with. He also discusses the Directors General of the Department of Education with whom he worked.

 directors general, Education Department, Frank Peach, Ian Mackie, Jillian McCullough, Mary Kelly, QTU, Steve Ryan
00:56:39

John Battams reflects on the division within the union regarding women's issues and women's involvement in the QTU, and the consequences of this, which included gender-tagging of positions on the Executive and in official positions. He describes the changes in the QTU when Mary Kelly became President in 1986.

 Jenny Hughey, Mary Kelly, QTU, women
01:00:43

John Battams discusses the involvement of Indigenous members in the QTU, all over Queensland and particularly in the Cape and Gulf.

 Cape York, Indigenous issues, QTU
01:01:55

John Battams describes the different methods of working with Conservative and Labor governments. He states that each had a different view on trade unions, but neither was easier or more difficult to work with.

 Borbidge Government 1996-98, Goss Government 1989-96, Newman Government 2012-, QTU
01:03:22

John Battams reflects on the Leading Schools dispute, and the bitterness associated with it.

 Education Department, QTU
01:10:43

John Battams discusses the change from the Borbidge to the Beattie governments and mending bridges between the Union and the Department of Education after the Leading Schools dispute.

 Beattie Government 1998-2007, Borbidge Government 1996-98, Education Department, QTU
01:12:07

John Battams speaks about the issue of class sizes and how both the Union and the Department of Education have reacted to it. He moves on to discuss density of QTU membership.

 Education Department, industrial disputes, Maryborough, Newman Government 2012-, QTU, union membership
01:17:15

John Battams discusses the technicalities of launching a Union campaign, and the importance of high membership in campaigning for rights.

 QTU, union campaigns, union membership
01:21:54

John Battams offers an opinion on the reason the QTU has not fallen victim to falling trade union memberships, like many other unions have done.

 QTU, union membership
01:29:03

John Battams confirms that he still a member of QTU, and details when he joined. He adds an interesting fact about the QTU and union dues.

 QTU
01:30:36

John Battams looks back on the relationship between the QTU and the QCU during his time as General Secretary of the QTU.

 Ian Mackie, Jillian McCullough, John Rockett, Mary Kelly, QTU, Queensland Council of Unions, SEQEB dispute, Steve Ryan, Trades and Labor Council, unions
01:35:05

John Battams offers his opinion on the reason for declining trade union membership in the last generation.

 Campbell Newman, maternity leave, QTU, Rupert Murdoch, superannuation legislation, Tony Abbott, union membership
01:38:52

John Battams reflects on his time in the QTU, and ponders any regrets he has about his career.

 QTU
01:40:37

John Battams discusses the greatest achievements of his career, which is the day-to-day collective achievements for teachers by the QTU, and the transformation of the QTU into a formidable power.

 QTU
01:42:37

Interview ends
Position:
Trade Unionist
Bailiwick:
Education, Queensland Teachers Union
Decade:
1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s
Sound byte: 

John Battams

Biography

John Battams

John Battams was General Secretary of the Queensland Teachers Union from 1990 until 2011. Only the sixth General Secretary of the QTU, he has been a member of the union since he began teaching in 1976, and in 2013 was awarded a Lifetime Membership of the Queensland Teachers Union.

Battams was born into a Catholic family in Mackay on 12 November 1955. His father was a staunch member of the Australian Labor Party, and an active member of the Australian Workers Union. Despite this, Battams declined to pursue his own political interests until he had completed his Bachelor of Economics and his Diploma of Education from the University of Queensland.

In his first year of teaching, John Battams became the Branch President of the North Brisbane region in the QTU. He continued to take honorary roles in the union throughout all his years of teaching. In 1981, John Battams was one of the leaders of the Moranbah Teachers’ Strike, where 60 teachers went on strike for five days for a reasonable locality allowance and against rising rent prices in government accommodation. By 1985, John Battams had become a Regional Organiser for the QTU.

In 1990, when both the General Secretary and the Deputy General Secretary of the QTU stepped down at the same time John Battams successfully became General Secretary of the Union with no prior Executive experience, and he held this position until 2011. John Battams has been President of the Queensland Council of Unions since 2009, and remains an active member of the QTU.

John Battams was a part of the driving force that revolutionised the Queensland Teachers Union, transforming it from a conservative, letter-writing body to a powerful union unafraid of taking industrial action. The QTU, during John Battams’ time as General Secretary, has won numerous battles, including non-contact time for teachers, better accommodation, a reduction in class sizes, and improved wages and allowances for Queensland teachers. Unlike most other trade unions in the last generation, the Queensland Teachers Union has grown in size and most importantly, has maintained a union membership density of 96% among state school teachers.

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