NSW/Australian Capital Territory

Union of minds: 70 years of solidarity

This year, the IEUA NSW/ACT Branch celebrates its 70th anniversary.

On 24 September 1954, a group of male teachers held a meeting at Sydney Grammar School and adopted the draft constitution of the NSW Assistant Masters’ Association, reviving an association that had formed in 1919 but ebbed away in the 1930s.

Women teachers in girls’ schools were welcomed in 1966, necessitating a name change to the Assistant Masters’ and Mistresses’ Association (AMMA). AMMA was renamed the more modern Independent Teachers’ Association in 1972 and, in 1994, became the inclusively named Independent Education Union to reflect our coverage of support staff.

Much has been achieved over seven decades, including establishing the first award in 1970, setting up superannuation in 1988 (not mandated until 1992); the first Catholic and independent schools teacher general strike in 1989 (over employers trying to trade off working conditions for a pay rise), successful work-value cases in 1990-91 and again in 2003-04; and two game-changing joint strikes with the NSW Teachers Federation, in 1996 and 2022.

Our 70 years of continuous history show the IEU can be both a progressive industrial union and a respected professional association, and we thank and congratulate every member for making our union what it is today.

Northern Territory

New voice on Teacher Registration Board

Our union congratulates Cassandra Holland who will represent members’ voices on the Northern Territory Teacher Registration Board (NT TRB).

IEU-QNT Branch Secretary Terry Burke said IEU member representation on the NT TRB was critical to ensuring the voices of practising teachers continued to be heard.

“Cassandra is an exemplary union activist and chapter representative employed in the NT Lutheran school sector,” Burke said.

“I welcome Cassandra to her new role, replacing outgoing NT TRB representative Erica Schultz, who served our union diligently in her role as representative.”

Cassandra said she is honoured to represent members on the NT TRB and looks forward to helping improve the lives of fellow educators.

“I am committed to supporting teachers at every stage of their career, from pre-service right through to Highly Proficient or Lead levels,” she said.

“Having a full-time practising teacher’s voice on the TRB will allow me to contribute meaningfully to the policies and practices that impact our profession.

“I want to help ensure the registration process is efficient, fair and supportive of all our members,” Holland said.

Queensland

Principals win 25-year battle for permanent jobs

IEU principal members in the Brisbane, Rockhampton and Toowoomba Catholic Dioceses have won a 25-year battle to secure continuing employment.

IEU-QNT Branch Secretary Terry Burke said members had won a provision in their latest collective agreements for conversion from fixed-term contracts to continuing employment for all principals.

“This is a truly significant achievement for members because fixed-term contracts have been a long-standing concern for principals in the Queensland Catholic Diocesan sector,” Burke said.

“To date, employers have had discretion to terminate contracts without any transparency,” he said.

Other significant wins for principal members in Brisbane, Rockhampton and Toowoomba during the most recent bargaining include:

• 5% wage increase from 1 July 2024 in Toowoomba and Brisbane, and 3% in Rockhampton – this will realign rates in the diocese with rates paid in other dioceses. An increase in all subsequent years of the agreement in line with the Diocesan Schools Agreement (DSA) plus an additional 1%.
• Cost of Living Payment (COLP): provision of a COLP as applied to those covered by the DSA.
• Employer superannuation contributions increased to 12.75%.
• Remote Area Incentives enhanced consistent with the DSA.
• Parental leave provision enhanced consistent with those that apply to teachers in the DSA.
  

Tasmania

Deal done in Catholic schools

In September, an in-principle deal was done on a new agreement for staff in Tasmanian Catholic schools just days after IEU members commenced industrial action.

Three years after the previous agreement expired, the employer finally dropped its contentious claim for the forced relocation of staff and agreed to union claims on pay parity with government school staff, low income payments, teacher workload reductions, improved paid parental leave, improved teacher classification progression, job security, leave improvement and increased meal and first aid allowances.

In August, members resoundingly supported 18 potential industrial actions in a protected action ballot, with over 80 per cent support for every measure and six receiving over 90 per cent backing.

The union sought a protected action ballot order from the Fair Work Commission, convinced that the prospect of industrial action was the only way negotiations, delayed endlessly by the employer, could be finalised, and it was vindicated. After just a day of work bans, the in-principle deal was reached.

Strong media coverage highlighted how the agreement was needed to bring Catholic staff up to speed with their state sector colleagues.

South Australia

Record amounts won for members

This year, the branch has employed two new industrial officers and for the first time, an in-house lawyer.

This has allowed it to pursue pecuniary penalties and contrition payments for breaches of enterprise agreements in a way that was not possible before.

More than $620,000 has been recovered for members. Wage theft payments of more than $345,000 make up the bulk of this amount, with employers in each sector making sometimes flagrant breaches, such as misclassification, non-payment of allowances or non-payment of redundancies.

Often, a deed protects the individual member, but also prevents the union from sharing which employer has committed the breaches. The branch is now involved in two significant matters from groups of employees, so watch this space.

Victoria

Bargaining begins in Catholic schools

The branch is preparing for the next round of bargaining for a new agreement in Victorian Catholic schools, with wage increases foremost on the agenda.

The CEMEA “Workload Agreement” was implemented in 2024 after an extended bargaining period and member campaign, and 2025 will be another busy year of campaigning.

General Secretary David Brear said members in the sector will be surveyed by the end of the year.

“Though the agreement does not expire until the end of 2025, we’ve already informed employers that they must factor in significant wage increases in their forward budgets,” Brear said.

“Wage increases will be high on the list of priorities after education unions around the country achieved significant pay increases for their members.

“With a teacher shortage biting and increased cost of living pressures hitting members hard, there must also be wage improvements for staff in Victorian schools.”

A 90-minute per week reduction in face-to-face teaching time and the abolition of ‘extras’ in the current agreement will continue the work of making significant inroads into workload intensification.

Western Australia

Bargaining underway and other wins for members

This year, IEU organisers have made their way to nearly every town in the state with a non-government school, from Esperance in the south up to Wyndham and throughout the Kimberley, Great Southern, the South West and the Goldfields regions.

We have bargaining under way for better pay and conditions for Catholic support staff, with members in schools represented by the Anglican Schools Commission, members in high-fee paying schools and several Christian schools.

We are working toward good outcomes for individual members, too. In the period from our 2023 AGM to our 2024 AGM, the IEU has won over $510,488 for members in settlements, entitlements and compensation. It goes to show that being an IEU member pays – literally.