As we come to the end of the year we also come to the end of an era. This October John Quessy retires as Secretary of the IEU.
John has always been a huge supporter of early childhood. In 2013 he vowed to fight until early childhood teachers reached pay parity and instigated an equal remuneration pay case which has required six years of dedication from the Union.
This now sits in the hands of three Fair Work Commissioners and we hope to have a result by the end of the year.
He also supported the Teachers are Teachers campaign and fought hard to see early childhood teachers accredited alongside their peers and recognised as professionals who do an important job.
John has also ensured that early childhood teachers in NSW had access to NESA accredited professional development over the last two years by paying membership fees for each early childhood teacher to use the Teacher Learning Network. This will continue into 2020.
The early childhood conference also enables teachers to access NESA accredited professional development and the subsidised positions mean that early childhood teachers in rural and remote areas are able to travel to Sydney to participate and network with peers.
This year it was another wonderful conference convened by the early childhood team and ECS Council members.
On behalf of all early childhood teachers in NSW, I would like to thank John for his support and commitment to the early childhood sector.
We make up only a small part of this Union yet we have always had equal consideration. Early childhood teachers are in a much better position because of this.