Designed to encourage more women to be present and active in unions, the Anna Stewart Memorial Project is a structured, two week long internship program consisting of two days each week at Trades Hall, with the remaining days in a union of choice.

Who was Anna Stewart?

A former journalist and active Victorian union official from 1974 to 1983, Anna Stewart died tragically in 1983, aged 35. Her involvement with the union movement began at a time when women workers comprised one third of the paid workforce, but the few industries in which women were employed offered jobs that were poorly paid, lacked job security, flexibility, skills recognition and unpaid maternity leave. Anna successfully spear-headed the first blue collar union campaign for maternity leave award provisions. At the time, Anna was in the late stages of pregnancy with her third child. She researched and argued work value cases, initiated campaigns against sexual harassment as an industrial issue and assisted with the ACTU Maternity Leave Test Case and campaign.

Women unionists are fortunate to have Anna’s example to assist and support them in the struggles that continue today.

To register your interest for the next Anna Stewart Memorial Project, contact your respective union office. If you are still unsure of how to apply, call the Women's Team on (03) 9659 3511.