IEU members at St Lucy’s School in Wahroonga are feeling undervalued and underwhelmed by the recent pay proposal presented to them by the Association of Independent Schools (AIS).
The employer is proposing to move its staff off the now expired Model C Catholic independent schools agreement and onto a single enterprise agreement through the AIS.
What does this mean? Teachers and support staff would not only be paid far below their colleagues in Catholic systemic schools in the Diocese of Broken Bay (where St Lucy’s is located) but the pay would also be substantially lower than the agreed-upon rates in Model C Catholic independent schools.
Whatever way you look at this offer, it is insulting. It neither reflects nor rewards the complex nature of work for both teachers and support staff at this school which educates and supports primary school and high school students with disabilities.
Teachers and support staff at St Lucy’s School operate within more intricate and challenging environments compared to other institutions within the Model C system or the Catholic Schools Broken Bay diocese and it is simply unacceptable that staff should be worse off under the new proposal.
IEU members at St Lucy’s feel disappointed and undervalued. “There is only so much love we can give,” one member said. “At the end of the day, we cannot pay our mortgage with love.”
IEU members at St Lucy’s have unanimously passed a Chapter Motion demanding a pay structure that reflects the reality of its members’ hard work and dedication – not one that undervalues them and fails to take into account cost-of-living pressures and industry standards in similar workplaces.
The Chapter is requesting that the current offer be reviewed and an updated offer be put to the union urgently, with Model C pay and conditions as a bare minimum.