IEU members belong to their state or territory’s branch, but did you know we also have a federal union? Here’s just some of the vast breadth of issues they act on, writes Monica Crouch.
The Independent Education Union of Australia (IEUA) is the federally registered industry union that represents members in non-government schools and education institutions across Australia. We have a nationwide membership of 75,000.
The federal union represents, advocates for and acts on behalf of members in the federal arena in matters of industrial relations, education policy and workplace laws that impact members throughout Australia.
Our federal union also represents members in international forums such as the Council of Pacific Education which brings together education unions from across the Pacific region (see Pacific educators unite, p15), and Education International, the global federation of 380 teachers’ unions.
Who we are
The federal union comprises Secretary Brad Hayes, who comes from the Queensland/Northern Territory Branch of the IEU; Federal Assistant Secretary Veronica Yewdall, from the NSW/ACT Branch; and Federal Assistant Secretary Anthony Odgers, from the Victoria/Tasmania Branch. The President is Carol Matthews, from the NSW/ACT Branch. They are supported by Research, Advocacy and Policy Officer Christine Regan.
The federal union meets four-to-five times a year with the secretaries of each state branch to discuss policy, priorities and direction.
Advocating for your industrial rights
During the past 18 months, the federal Labor government has passed some of the biggest changes to workplace laws in almost 20 years following concerted campaigns by union members across the country. “These include some really important changes for IEU members – changes that can empower members to win crucial improvements to wages and working conditions across our sector,” IEUA Secretary Brad Hayes says.
But winning these federal laws was just the first step. “Now we need to put them into action,” Hayes says. “Our union aims to seize the opportunity provided by these reforms to deliver a new era of workplace rights, better working conditions and respect for our education professions.”
This year the federal union is focusing on:
- Winning better wages and conditions: “We can use these new laws where bargaining has previously failed at the individual enterprise level to now unite and bargain together as a group – for example, across 64 employers in the long day care sector,” Hayes says.
- Fairer bargaining timeframes: “We need to explore how fairer bargaining laws, combined with other improvements like new delegates’ rights, can help improve bargaining timeframes and outcomes when employers deliberately delay and frustrate the process,” Hayes says.
- Fully repairing the bargaining system: “The limits on taking industrial action are incredibly onerous and still stacked in favour of employers,” Hayes says. “We are campaigning for further changes to level the playing field for members seeking to take lawful protected action.”
To win meaningful change, the union needs an active and growing membership to back our campaigns – there is real strength in numbers. “The federal union will be working with our state branches to develop a plan for building union membership at a time of high staff turnover in schools,” Hayes says.
“Many of our experienced members and delegates are approaching retirement age, we need to engage the next generation of union leaders if we are to continue the proud legacy and achievements of the IEU.”
The more members the union has, the greater our bargaining power.
Advancing your professional interests
The IEUA advocates for members’ professional interests through actively engaging with federal education authorities, providing submissions and giving evidence at parliamentary and senate inquiries, and representing the concerns of teachers and support staff in taskforces and working groups on education policy.
Addressing workload intensification is a key priority. “Everyone who works in schools understands the real impacts of teacher shortages, and that unsustainable workloads are a key reason early career teachers leave the profession in their first few years and experienced teachers leave years earlier than they intended,” says Assistant Federal Secretary Veronica Yewdall.
“The teacher shortage is both the result of unmanageable workloads and the cause of ongoing teacher burnout for those who remain in the profession.”
To tackle excessive workload at its source and find meaningful solutions, the federal union has engaged with members to identify pressing concerns and clarify misunderstandings about the origin of workload drivers.
“One of our key professional engagement priorities this year is to secure official advice that clarifies what is, and is not, required for compliance,” Yewdall says.
“The deluge of additional workload requirements over the last decade or so, particularly with regards to documentation, has been so intense that teachers have not had the time to identify the source of the request. Clarifying compliance requirements empowers teachers to start a professional dialogue in their schools and address workloads that have evolved over time and are duplicative or excessive.”
The IEU also represents teachers in the early childhood education and care sector, who are struggling with the same staff shortages and professional issues as teachers in schools.
“The IEU is lobbying for urgent relief from the burden of compliance tasks, for comparable pay with teachers in schools, and for better resources and support through the Early Years Strategy and through engagement with the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).
There is an urgent need to attract, train and retain people in the profession. “The union’s aim in clarifying compliance and identifying unnecessary practices and processes is to empower members and restore time for teachers to devote to their core work – teaching.”
The federal union constantly presses to eliminate unnecessary and duplicative compliance tasks.
See these helpful fact sheets on:
NCCD: bit.ly/4bmcbzw NESA compliance: bit.ly/ieunesacompliance AITSL Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework: bit.ly/AITSL-ATPDFfactsheet.
Campaigning for fairer laws
The wages and conditions of most IEU members are set by a combination of federal legislation, enterprise bargaining agreements and individual contracts.
“So our federal union campaigns to improve federal legislation,” Assistant Federal Secretary Anthony Odgers says.
“We also aim to improve federal awards that contain the minimum standards for wages and conditions should employers refuse to bargain.”
Here are some important new gains and this year’s priorities:
- Right to disconnect: From 26 August (and a year later for workplaces with fewer than 15 employees), members will have the right not to read emails, take phone calls, or respond to text messages from their employer, students or their parents outside working hours.
- Stronger rights for union reps: From 30 June, barriers in awards that block IEU reps from conducting reasonable union business will be removed. This means reps can now use employer facilities such as email to contact members and potential members, and have access to paid time off for union training. Reps will also gain strong new protections from any employer harassment.
- Ending discrimination in schools: Religious schools have relied on exemptions in anti-discrimination legislation to discipline and dismiss members who are divorced or separated, who are members of the LGBTIQ+ community, or who access IVF treatments. “At the last election, the federal government promised to scrap these unfair and outdated exemptions,” Odgers says. “We are campaigning for them to meet this commitment.”
- Wage rises to reduce gender inequality: Through a case being made by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), as part of the annual wage review, unions are seeking separate and additional wage increases of 4% for feminised sectors, and this includes classroom support staff.
