NSW/ACT
Time to say ‘yes’
The IEU continues to push for improvements in pay and conditions for teachers and support staff employed in Catholic systemic schools.
The union is negotiating with dioceses to seek improvements in key workload areas such as programming, scheduled release for early career teachers and their mentors, data collection, NCCD, reporting and requirements for teacher development. Some progress is being made. However, in the central negotiations, and with some dioceses, bargaining has stalled.
To progress the claims, the IEU lodged a bargaining dispute with the Fair Work Commission on 20 February seeking the assistance of the Fair Work Commission in bargaining. Our concerns are that key documents (such as Catholic Employment Relations (CER) proposed support staff pay classifications, CER proposed support staff pay rates, and a draft enterprise agreement) still have not been provided to the union.
Employers have also failed to match the additional release that is being provided in government schools, despite promising in April 2022 to match any improvements implemented across the state in government schools. In many dioceses, there has been little progress on workload. We hope the Commission will be able to create a new, more effective framework to progress discussions on pay, workload and other outstanding issues.
Members are encouraged to continue to support the campaign by wearing yellow Hear Our Voice t-shirts one day a week or displaying union slogans or insignia.
Meanwhile, the NSW/ACT Branch has thrown itself wholeheartedly behind the Unions For Yes campaign for a Voice to Parliament. The union is encouraging its members to vote ‘yes’ in the forthcoming referendum on recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and embedding their right to have a voice on policies and laws made for them. IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Mark Northam and Assistant Secretary Carol Matthews show their support (above).
#UnionsForYes #Yes2023
Victoria
No More Freebies
Late last year, the union announced that significant progress had been made towards reaching an in-principle deal for a new agreement in most of Victorian Catholic schools. This progress was in large part thanks to the extraordinary efforts of members across the state through the No More Freebies campaign, which highlighted the ridiculous workload excesses endured by educators.
The proposed deal focuses heavily on landmark workload improvements, achieving significant improvements to many important conditions for all staff, better classification structures for education support staff and – crucially – a fundamental change to the way teacher work is regulated.
It will support the professional autonomy of teachers and provide a strong foundation from which to limit workloads and help retain and develop teachers.
The year began with extensive work fine-tuning the details of the deal and drafting the final document. IEU Reps from all relevant schools were introduced to the main features of the proposed deal in an online briefing. All members in the covered schools then received detailed rundowns of the proposed improvements and were offered extra training on specifics from organisers and reps.
After all the hard work fighting for much-needed improvements, the union must now ensure that members understand how the workload alleviation measures work and how they will benefit staff.
Tasmania
Two brave members win leave entitlements for many
Early in 2023, the IEU settled a case it had brought against Catholic Education Tasmania (CET) involving the rejection of Communicable Diseases Leave requests for two members who contracted COVID-19.
The IEU argued that the benchmark for demonstrating that COVID had been acquired in the workplace had been set unrealistically high, and that as a result many staff were being denied the paid leave to which they should be entitled.
Thanks to the determination of those two members, many others will benefit. After the settlement, CET agreed to review all previously rejected COVID-related Communicable Diseases Leave requests by 14 February.
Accordingly, the union urged members in CET schools to contact their organisers if they had similar issues, as the settlement offered hope that many formerly rejected leave applications could be approved.
The co-operative nature of the negotiations leading to the settlement was a significant change from the stubborn hostility the union has experienced when attempting discussions with the CET in recent years. We hope this improved communication with Tasmanian Catholic employers continues, particularly as we return to the negotiation table seeking a new and overdue agreement.
Western Australia
Back to the bargaining table
The IEUA WA team is powering through Term 1, thanks to an industrious 2022. In September, Catholic teachers voted ‘no, loud and clear’ to a sub-standard proposed enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA), bringing Catholic Education WA (CEWA) back to the bargaining table. It’s too soon to celebrate with CEWA still ignoring unsustainable teacher workloads. Our next Catholic teacher bargaining meeting was due on 1 March.
IEU Members at St Stephen’s School celebrated their first EBA registration with the Fair Work Commission in May, having fought long and hard since late 2017 – a massive win for IEU Members at St Stephen’s. Their access to paid union delegate leave was a first for IEU members.
There was an impressive win for Methodist Ladies’ College members who did an amazing job voting down an unsatisfactory EBA twice and negotiating a much improved deal.
Northern Territory
Catholic members set benchmark rate
Catholic school members have secured a wage offer that exceeds the public sector for the first time in the Northern Territory. 84.7 per cent of staff voted ‘yes’ at the ballot in mid-December on the new collective agreement, which will provide wage increases of 10.1 per cent over three years.
The public wage increase is nine per cent for the same period.
NT Organiser Jengis Osman said members were relieved to have finalised the bargaining process and that their tenacity and collective strength had paid off.
“IEU members in NT Catholic schools had their voices heard and have now secured higher wage percentage increases than the public sector,” Jengis said.
Securing this wage rise came after an overwhelming 86.2 per cent of NT Catholic school employees voted ‘no’ to the employer’s initial proposed agreement in September, which offered wage increases of just 2.5 per cent per year over a three-year agreement.
“IEU members rejected the employer’s initial offer because they found it unacceptable, given it was significantly less than current and anticipated inflation,” Jengis said.
“Members refused to settle for an inferior wage offer from the employer, particularly in light of crippling cost-of-living pressures impacting workers across Australia,” he said.
Queensland
Catholic bargaining underway
Fair pay to address cost-of-living pressures, greater professional recognition of school officers and meaningful interventions into workload and work intensification are the top priorities for Queensland Catholic members in this round of collective bargaining.
The new collective agreement must provide significant wage and income relief in response to cost-of-living pressures.
This means the superannuation ‘premium’ previously won by IEU-QNT members based on an employee co-contribution must be reviewed, given developments in the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rates and foreshadowed changes in the Queensland public sector.
Meaningful interventions are also needed to ease workload pressures caused by new employer initiatives, government regulations and growing parental expectations.
The new collective agreement should confirm the final stage of the School Officer Classification Review.
Replacing the outdated school officer classification structure with a contemporary, appropriate, and considered classification structure is long overdue.
We need an updated contemporary classification structure recognising the complexities of diverse school officer roles.
IEU-QNT members in Queensland Catholic schools can access the latest campaign updates 24/7 via their MyIEU member portal at www.myieu.org.au