Prolonged negotiations for a new Catholic systemic enterprise agreement were a major topic in Newsmonth in the first half of 2015.
“At midday on Friday 24 April, after more than 380 days of, at times, bitter dispute with Catholic employers, a significant development occurred that encouraged the union to suspend industrial action planned for the following Tuesday,” wrote General Secretary John Quessy.
Following the threat of a full day of industrial action, employers finally came to the table with a much better deal.
This was the turning point that led to the finalisation of a new Catholic Systemic Schools EA after more than a year of talks.
Quessy went on to detail the reasons for the protracted negotiations: “The dispute commenced on 7 April 2014 when CCER hand delivered the draft of a totally unacceptable enterprise agreement (EA).”
In that initial document, Catholic employers “largely rewrote every clause and every condition to suit them”, Quessy wrote.
In June 2015, Newsmonth reported that the union could finally recommend a ‘yes’ vote and members were congratulated for their resolve.
“Your persistence has won the day,” Quessy wrote.
“For more than 12 months, members have made their opposition clear, first by voting overwhelmingly in a series of protected action ballots, the largest number of such ballots on a single issue since the Fair Work laws were established.
“On behalf of the officers and Executive, I want to thank and congratulate members on the stand they have taken and their unwavering tenacity. We can confidently recommend a ‘yes’ vote in the upcoming ballot.”
Negotiations for the Catholic Systemic Schools EA took 14 months to conclude.
However, other issues remained unresolved in 2015. The headline on the cover of the March issue of Newsmonth read “IEU calls for end to anti-discrimination exemptions”.
“These exemptions reflect a bygone era and require review to reflect a more contemporary understanding of workplace justice and human rights,” Quessy wrote.
Ten years later, the NSW Law Reform Commission is seeking feedback for a review of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW), which allows exemptions to anti-discrimination law for religious institutions, including schools. The IEU is making a submission to this review.