Principals at the forefront

The IEU takes this opportunity to thank principal members for their support for the union and we hope that principals, their families and school communities were able to enjoy some rest and renewal at Christmas and the New Year. Very best wishes for your return to school for 2020.

We are mindful, however, that many schools and their communities have either been directly impacted by bushfires or affected by the smoke which covered Sydney, Canberra and many other areas for a long period.

As well as the ongoing drought, which was featured in the December issue of Newsmonth, schools have also been affected by recent dust storms, hail storms and other extreme weather events.

The union is engaging with employers as appropriate in relation to support for members in workplaces affected by the fires or other recent weather events.
In Term 4 of 2019 the union valued the opportunity to meet with IEU principal members at a range of regional gatherings, including in Canberra, Lismore, Wollongong, Forbes, Bathurst, Sydney Southern Region and with Armidale Diocese principals by phone.

A phone meeting was also held for independent sector principals. The IEU looks forward to opportunities for regional principals’ gatherings in the year ahead.
With regard to the Catholic systemic enterprise agreement negotiations, the IEU has sought meetings at the earliest opportunity in 2020 with the Catholic Commission for Employment Relations (CCER) to progress bargaining and is also seeking specific discussions with Sydney Catholic Schools. Further updates will be provided as soon as possible.

2020 will also see multi-enterprise agreements (MEA) negotiations for teachers and support staff in independent schools. Many independent sector principals have the teachers’ MEA as the basis of their remuneration and core employment conditions.

The next Principals Sub Branch meeting will be on Saturday, 15 February. Meeting dates for 2020 will be confirmed then, but the proposed dates for this year are 2 May, 8 August and 7 November.

Principals are most welcome to contact the IEU if there is anything they would like to discuss. In particular, the IEU congratulates new principals on their appointment and warmly invites them to engage with IEU principals’ activities.

Pam Smith
Assistant Secretary/Principals Organiser