IEU Organisers Lubna Haddad and Charles Wheeler were delegates at the Parramatta Jobs and Skills Summit on 26 August, representing members and highlighting the important role of education in the economic dialogue.
Federal Member for Parramatta Andrew Charlton opened the event by explaining its purpose: for him to listen to his constituents.
He assured all attendees that the new Labor Government was taking a consultative approach ahead of the National Jobs and Skills Summit on 1-2 September.
Charlton emphasised that government was not pretending to ‘have all the answers’, but was genuinely interested in identifying problems and solutions from those on the frontlines.
The event brought together different unions, businesses, community organisations and education groups who identified and addressed shared economic challenges and collaborated to build consensus about Parramatta’s local economy.
Dr Charlton described Parramatta an “education success story” with both opportunities and challenges in the early childhood, primary, secondary and vocational education sectors.
This provided a chance for IEU organisers to share current and long-standing challenges facing the teaching profession to the diverse range participants.
Staff shortages, job security, gender pay inequality, work intensification, attracting young people to the teaching profession and the retention of current staff were just a few of the issues discussed.
A skills shortage at both a local and national level was referred to several times by a panel of local representatives and was a hot topic in the workshops that followed. The solution? Increased funding and attention to education at all levels, and from the IEU’s perspective, paying teachers and support staff what they’re worth.
It was an excellent opportunity to talk about the IEU’s claim in Catholic systemic schools and the momentum a successful outcome would give to other sectors negatively affected by a debilitating and unfair wages cap.