Sub Branch reports

The IEU has 19 geographical sub branches across NSW and the ACT, plus the Principals’ sub branch. Sub branches meet four times a year, usually in the first three or four weeks of each term.

Sub branch meetings are a way for reps and members to provide feedback to the union about what’s happening on the ground in their workplaces. The meetings are also an opportunity for reps and members from each region to hear updates from IEU organisers.

Each sub branch sends four to six delegates to quarterly IEU Council meetings. Council is the union’s decision-making body, bringing together about 115 member delegates from throughout NSW and the ACT.

The IEU Executive of 22 members is elected every three years by members.

All reps and any IEU members who’d like to develop their union activism are warmly invited to attend their region’s sub branch meeting.

Contact your rep or organiser if you’d like more information.

Central Coast

The Central Coast Sub Branch includes Gosford, Erina, Green Point, Lake Munmorah, Tuggerah, Wyong and surrounds.

The Central Coast Sub Branch met on 1 August at the Ourimbah RSL Club, Ourimbah. Five members attended, representing Catholic systemic and AIS schools, along with three IEU staff. We discussed:

  • AIS negotiations
  • Broken Bay collaborative planning time teacher release
  • an overview of NSW work value decisions for teachers
  • restructures in Catholic high schools
  • Broken Bay wellbeing booklet.

Jim Hall Organiser


Central Metropolitan and Metropolitan East

The Central Metropolitan Sub Branch includes central Sydney, Sydney’s inner-western suburbs and Rhodes, Concord and Meadowbank. The Metropolitan East Sub Branch covers the eastern suburbs of Sydney, including Bondi, Waverley and Bellevue Hill.

In 2024, the sub branches of Central Metropolitan and Metropolitan East have been trialling combined meetings to revitalise them and connect members across the two sub branches. At the Term 3 meeting, held on Wednesday 7 August, we welcomed 12 members from the two sub branches.

Members were particularly interested in the IEU’s negotiations with the Association of Independent Schools for new multi-enterprise agreements for teachers and professional, administrative and operational staff (see page 3), as well as the briefing on the new delegates’ rights changes recently introduced into the Fair Work Act.

The Term 4 meeting will be held at the IEU’s Wattle Street office on Thursday 14 November. Members from both sub branches are warmly invited to attend.

Kendall Warren Organiser


Central West

The Central West Sub Branch includes Dubbo, Bathurst, Orange and Lithgow, as well as Cowra, Mudgee, Parkes, Forbes, Grenfell and Wilcannia.

The Term 3 Central West Sub Branch meeting was held in Dubbo on Friday 2 August at a new venue, Dubbo RSL. We had a good rollup of members from across 13 different chapters meeting to discuss various issues on a broad agenda. Also attending were organisers Donna Widdison, Pat Devery and Assistant Secretary Lyn Caton.

The meeting was opened with a Welcome to Country by Karen Andriske, followed by introductions. The election of the two vacant Council positions was discussed and a vote will take place when the AEC sends out voting forms – hopefully by late October. The three nominees are Peter Nunn from St Laurence’s in Forbes, Geoff Haywood from Scots All Saints in Bathurst and Maureen Milgate from St Mary’s in Wellington.

We discussed campaigns and negotiations in independent schools, Christian schools, preschools and Catholic systemic schools. We talked at length about the reps’ training day to be held in Orange on 20 August. All those present were encouraged to attend and keep abreast of their rights and responsibilities, strategies for running chapter meetings, useful skills for supporting members and an overview of our entitlements.

We then discussed issues by chapter and ways of dealing with them.

Our next meeting will be in Bathurst on Friday 15 November.

Louise Hughes, Sub Branch President


Members at the Cumberland Sub Branch meeting.

Cumberland

The Cumberland Sub Branch includes Parramatta, Mt Druitt, Castle Hill, Marsden Park, Blacktown and nearby suburbs.

The Term 3 Cumberland Sub Branch meeting was held on Monday 29 July at the union’s Parramatta office, with a hybrid zoom option.

As part of the union’s commitment to to train and empower reps, the meeting included discussion of delegates’ rights under the Fair Work Act.

Catholic systemic reps in primary schools raised concerns about the number of playground duties professional, operational and administrative staff are doing. The union advised that these practices need to be in line with the rights of the staff in the enterprise agreement and diocesan policies.

Independent school reps were keenly interested in discussing the current IEU negotiations for new multi-enterprise agreements (see page article).

Unregulated workloads in the independent school sector drew most discussion, including the union’s claim for greater transparency and consistency of loads with other sectors. The sub branch was alarmed to learn that their employer’s solution to easing workloads in term time was to increase work demands and expectations in non-term time and to deny staff their right to disconnect after hours.

We urge all reps to hold regular chapter meetings (with or without an organiser present) to ensure all members are up-to-date with union matters and campaigns. We also recommend chapters elect two reps: one for teachers and one for non-teaching staff.

The next meeting will be held on Monday 4 November 2024 at 4.30pm in our Parramatta office, followed by end-of-year dinner and drinks at the Royal Oak Hotel. If reps are unavailable to attend, we encourage you to send another member in your place.

Lubna Haddad Organiser


Hunter Valley

The Hunter Valley Sub Branch includes Newcastle, Maitland, Singleton, Scone, Taree and surrounds.

The Hunter Valley Sub Branch meeting was well attended, with representatives from independent and Catholic schools as well as early childhood teachers. The sub branch welcomed Assistant Secretary Amanda Hioe.

In addition to updates on current and pending bargaining, the sub branch spent considerable time discussing workloads and entitlements across all sectors.

Concerns were raised about the never-ending expectations around programming and evaluation. Most members say they are still being overloaded with unnecessary administration tasks that take them away from their key responsibilities of lesson preparation and teaching. Members also expressed concerns about increasing expectations to attend events out of school hours.

The sub branch celebrated new permanent contracts for learning support assistants in Catholic schools. However, reps explained that cuts to learning support budgets, combined with a new formula emphasising enrolment rather than need, has resulted in high-need students not being supported appropriately. This places considerable extra stress on all members and leads to some students not receiving support.

We discussed payment of allowances and, in particular, travel allowances for members who are required to attend activities away from their workplace. Many members are routinely advised to claim travel on their tax rather than being paid in accordance with the provisions under the relevant agreement. The union will continue to pursue these issues.

The sub branch received an update on bargaining for the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Schools Office Enterprise Agreement and notes the commitment and dedication of members involved in the bargaining committee.

Thanks as always to all reps who attended. For our Term 4 meeting, please check: ieu.asn.au/events

Therese Fitzgibbon Organiser


Ku-ring-gai

The Ku-ring-gai Sub Branch covers Sydney’s north shore, including Hornsby, Wahroonga, Waitara, Warrawee, Thornleigh, Pymble, Turramurra, Berowra and Asquith.

The Ku-ring-gai Sub Branch held its Term 3 meeting on Monday 5 August at Hornsby RSL. Ku-ring-gai reps and members met with IEU organisers Charles Wheeler and James Jenkins-Flint and Industrial Coordinator Neal Bent.

With several reps from independent schools present, the hot topic for the evening was the proposals for pay and conditions made by the Association of Independent Schools (AIS) in recent bargaining meetings with the IEU (see page article).

Many concerns were aired and robust debate ensued. Indpendent school members who threw their support behind their Catholic systemic colleagues for the Hear Our Voice campaign in 2022-23 welcomed the reciprocal support and solidarity from their Catholic school counterparts.

Neal talked through delegates’ rights, which was greeted with much
interest from members. Constructive conversations followed about how to harness these new protections to grow our union and improve pay and conditions.

Our sub branch meets in the Bistro at Hornsby RSL at 4.30pm on Mondays in Week 3 of each term. Attendees discuss issues by branch, sub branch and school before enjoying a meal and drinks together.

Charles Wheeler Organiser


Lansdowne

The Lansdowne Sub Branch covers Lakemba to Liverpool including Bankstown, Fairfield, Auburn.

The Lansdowne meeting was held after Newsmonth went to press.


Mid North Coast

The Mid North Coast Sub Branch includes Coffs Harbour, Kempsey, Port Macquarie, Bellingen, Nambucca Heads and surrounds.

A strong contingent of delegates, all from Catholic systemic schools, attended the meeting at Coffs Harbour on Friday 2 August.

Members talked about several worrying expectations being imposed on members in primary schools, well beyond what could be considered reasonable. We discussed the importance of the new right to disconnect legislation and the need to champion the professionalism of our members in response to managerial overreach and micro-management.

Secondary school representatives reported a rise in students harassing members. It was noted that the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools had clear policies on harassment when harassment was initiated by staff but was silent when it was initiated by students against staff. To that end, the sub branch passed a series of motions calling on the Diocese to develop a policy framework to protect staff and comply with its positive duty to provide a safe work environment. A version of these motions will be tabled at Council on 17 August.

It was also reported that between schools with similar student populations there is significant disparity in how coordinator points, release and pay are allocated and distributed. A motion was passed calling on the Diocese to standardise and publish this allocation process to ensure equity across all its schools. We asked for this to be codified in the next enterprise agreement and/or Work Practices Agreement process.

Our Term 4 sub branch meeting will be held at Nambucca Heads RSL on Friday 22 November at 6pm, followed by dinner. We look forward to seeing members there.

Markus Muschal Sub Branch President


Monaro

The Monaro Sub Branch covers Canberra and the ACT.

The meeting, held on 1 August at the IEU office in Deakin, was well attended by members from different sectors. The meeting provided a platform for robust discussion on several critical issues affecting members. Key topics included:

  • the possibility of creating Fact Sheets for Teacher Quality
    Institute (TQI) and ACT-specific requirements to help members
    clarify where excessive workload demands are coming from
  • the impact of International Baccalaureate (IB) programs on
    workload, pay and conditions – it was suggested that sharing
    information between reps at IB schools would be valuable
  • the purpose of pupil-free days – professional development
    versus planning
  • timetable clashes, split classes and workload for those assigning
    and marking lessons caused by timetabling software
  • ensuring time on school camps is properly tracked as part of
    the working week
  • concerns were also raised about the Independent Schools
    Teacher Accreditation Authority (ISTAA) and the Nationally
    Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD).

The sub branch commends the excellent work of reps in ACT Christian schools who are currently in challenging negotiations for new enterprise agreements.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday 14 November 2024.

Alex Thompson Monaro Sub Branch Deputy President


Members at the Mid North Coast Sub Branch meeting.

North Coast

The North Coast Sub Branch covers Lismore, Tweed Heads, Kingscliff, Pottsville, Murwillumbah, Mullumbimby, Kyogle, Ballina, Lismore, Casino, Coraki, Woodburn, Yamba and Maclean.

The sub branch met on 7 August at the Ivory Hotel in Tweed Heads. Reps came from Catholic systemic, Anglican, Christian and other independent schools throughout the region.

There were some reports of rule changes regarding flexible work arrangements (FWA). This was verified by a number of schools. Staff are being told they cannot access FWA if they have already been on a FWA for two years, and that they are welcome to apply to swap from permanent full-time to permanent part-time. This is being offered to all on FWA not just those over 55 years.

Other issues raised and discussed included:

  • teachers on part-time load are being expected to attend PD
    and do extras above pro-rata expectations.
  • teachers are now expected to use some RFF to attend case
    management meetings to discuss student needs. This is on top
    of usual demands for which RFF is used.
  • workloads are not decreasing as members have expected.
  • teacher’s aides are not allowed to carry their phones when
    on playground duty despite the benefit of safety and first aid.
    Teacher’s aides are not receiving support from the school
    executive when they report playground behaviours or issues.
  • support staff are being evaluated by the executive and no
    reason has been given.

  • The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 6 November at the IEU’s Lismore office.

    Richard Ryan Organiser


    North West

    The North West Sub Branch covers the New England region, including Armidale, Tamworth, Gunnedah, Tenterfield, Inverell, Moree and Narramine.

    While shorter days, chilly weather and the cold and flu season saw our numbers down a bit, there were still plenty of reps gathered at the Tamworth Hotel on Friday 2 August to discuss all things union.

    We had an extended conversation about accreditation issues across the sectors, including what would become of the Association of Independent Schools (AIS) proposals (see page 3); and where the current ISTAA process would fit alongside NESA Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher accreditation in terms of portability. The maintenance of accreditation at NESA Proficient level was also discussed, as was the impact of restrictions in recent years across the professional learning calendar and agenda.

    It was noted that there was increased engagement from members in our AIS schools in the region with a growing awareness of some employer proposals that would see all staff worse off in crucial ways. The union has not accepted these proposals. It is important that our members continue to raise awareness of industrial matters in their schools.

    The North West Sub Branch will hold an AEC election for two positions on the IEU Council. We look forward to a full contingency at the upcoming AGM on 26 October.

    Sue McKay Organiser


    Northern Beaches

    The Northern Beaches Sub Branch includes Manly, Dee Why, Collaroy, Narrabeen, Terrey Hills, Warriewood and surrounds.

    The Northern Beaches Sub Branch welcomed a new rep to their first meeting. We also congratulated Sukli Barrell on her election to IEU Council representing the sub branch, but we still have four vacancies to be filled.

    The meeting was an opportunity to farewell a long-standing IEU rep from a Catholic independent school and an IEU member of 39 years who retires at the end of the year to take up grandparenting duties.

    There was plenty of interest in the independent school negotiations (see page 3), with opportunities for reps to seek clarification around the outstanding issues.

    The next meeting is set for Wednesday 6 November.

    Megan Bruce Organiser


    Northern Suburbs

    The Northern Suburbs Sub Branch covers Artarmon, Gordon, Chatswood, Cremorne, Gladesville, Hunters Hill, Kirribilli, Lane Cove, Lindfield, Milson’s Point, Mosman, North Sydney, Roseville, Ryde, St Ives, St Leonards, Willoughby and Woolwich.

    The meeting was held on Tuesday 30 July with Sub Branch President and Chair Anna Luedi, (also of a member of the IEU Executive), in attendance. The main topics of discussion were programming expectations in the Sydney Archdiocese, as well as proposed feedback to the Diocesan working party on teacher workloads.

    In a similar fashion to work previously done by the IEU with the Broken Bay Diocese, the Sydney Archdiocese is looking to address teaching workloads via discussions with union members.

    Also, this year the Sydney Archdiocese provided some primary-level teaching programs to staff. The programs are of significant length, with a one-term primary English program reaching some 80 pages. There is some confusion among members about the expectations arising from these programs and whether they are intended to be used in their entirety or if teachers can modify and choose the most suitable elements for their class. Further, although the programs are lengthy, extensive resources required to follow them are often not provided.

    More training for learning support staff was also discussed, to enable them to assist to a greater extent with students of differing learning needs.

    The Term 4 meeting will be held in North Sydney with dinner and drinks and we warmly invite all reps to join us.

    James Jenkins-Flint Organiser


    Members at the Penrith/Blue Mountains Sub Branch meeting.

    Penrith/Blue Mountains

    The Penrith/Blue Mountains Sub Branch covers Penrith to Glenbrook, Katoomba and Blackheath.

    Our Term 3 sub branch meeting was very well attended on 7 August at Nepean Rowers Club. We were glad to welcome some new attendees who were either new reps in their schools or filling in for reps that were unable to attend.

    The ‘second chance’ election for Council delegates was successful and we have now filled five of our six spots. It is encouraging to have more members involved at this level of
    the union.

    Schools are still experiencing pressures due to teacher shortages as well as the ever-increasing workloads. There were some questions around the Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese (CSPD) Teacher Scholarship program and how the ‘Teacher Associates’ should be managed in schools. There doesn’t seem to be any allowance of time and/or pay for staff to supervise them. Organisers will take these concerns to their next meeting with the diocesan office.

    Two other major issues discussed were the expectation of part-time staff in independent schools to attend professional development during non-term time or their non-work days and the new payroll system being implemented by CSPD (called Employee Connect). The sub-branch passed unanimous motions in relation to both of these issues for further clarification and action. The outcomes of these motions will be communicated in the next report.

    Elizabeth Heggart Sub Branch President


    Principals

    Principal representatives from across NSW and the ACT convened on Saturday 3 August, both in person at the IEU’s Sydney office and online. The gathering aimed to reflect and discuss crucial matters of governance, change management and workflow parameters.

    The discussions were informed by data from two surveys conducted across two dioceses. Key topics included the use of centralised casual cover arrangements and the impact of principals having a teaching load on top of their overall workload.

    The survey results were unsurprising to many. Numerous principals reported teaching up to 20 hours a week, with over 20 hours on administrative tasks, many of which were duplicative.

    Principal members celebrated the recent IEU negotiations that resulted in a 4% pay increase for all Broken Bay principals effective from 1 July 2024. A comparison table of current pay rates across the three Catholic systemic principals’ enterprise agreements (EAs) was presented, revealing a differential of between 1.4% and 5.3% in 10 of the 11 dioceses.

    The Sydney Catholic Schools Principals’ EA and the NSW and ACT Catholic Schools Principals’ EA are set to expire on 9 October 2024. Meetings with principal members in each of the 10 dioceses will be scheduled to establish a log of claims.

    Principal members also identified the need for increased release time for middle management and promotions positions. Increasing hours for support staff was another key recommendation.

    Presentations by Professional Engagement Coordinator Pat Devery and Assistant Secretary Amanda Hioe provided members with the opportunity to seek clarity on various professional and industrial topics.

    The next Principals’ Sub Branch meeting will be held in Sydney on Saturday 9 November. All are welcome to attend.

    Lyn Caton, Assistant Secretary and Principals Organiser


    Riverina

    The Riverina Sub Branch covers Wagga Wagga, Albury, Griffith, West Wyalong, Leeton, Hay and Thurgoona.

    The Riverina Sub Branch meeting was held in Griffith on Friday 26 July. Members extended a warm welcome to Assistant Secretary Lyn Caton, who had been the Sub Branch’s organiser for many years.

    Not surprisingly, workloads and related issues were of most concern to members in all the schools represented at the meeting.

    There was a great deal of interest in the outcomes from the June Council workshops and follow-up at the August Council meeting. The consensus was that the greatest driver for the next Catholic campaign would be workloads.

    Challenging behaviours from students in both primary and secondary schools, the failure of behaviour management policies and the lack of appropriate support for both the student and the teacher involved were also of concern. These students are often returned to the classroom without any advice to staff regarding practices for managing the students.

    Discussion then segued into work health and safety issues around psychosocial harm, including the powers of health and safety reps and work health and safety committees.

    Reps have expressed concern that early career teachers are not receiving their reduced load as agreed with Catholic Education Wagga Wagga. Organiser Jackie Groom contacted CEWW and was advised the schools are receiving the allocation and if the names of the schools are provided to them, they will ensure compliance.

    An update was provided on the various current campaigns including independent schools, Christians, early childhood education and care and the upcoming Catholic systemic campaign. Lyn gave an update on the IEU’s negotiations with the Association of Independent Schools.

    Jackie Groom, Organiser


    South Coast

    The South Coast Sub Branch covers the Macarthur region, the Southern Highlands, Wollongong and the Illawarra region and the northern end of the Shoalhaven region.

    The Term 3 South Coast Sub Branch meeting was held at Campbelltown RSL on Wednesday 31 July. The meeting welcomed Emma Ford from the IEU’s industrial team, and while we’d like more reps from the region to join us, the meeting was still rich in the sharing of school-based matters, including:

    • support staff requesting provision of a laptop for their work as
      the requirement to record information online is becoming more
      and more prevalent
    • access to the fitness passport as a wellbeing initiative
    • the continuation, or not, of twilight meetings in 2024 and beyond.
    • an increase in meetings for teaching and leadership in 2024
      where electronic means would be more efficient
    • diverse learning needs – members are seeing a significant
      increase in the amount of paperwork and information learning
      support teachers are required to collect
    • South Coast reps were looking forward to training.

    We’d love to welcome more reps to our sub branch meetings, so feel free to join us for the Term 4 meeting and bring another member with you. It’s a great way to have your voice heard.

    Luke Breen Organiser


    South East

    The South East Sub Branch covers Batlow, Yass, Young, Broulee, Bega, Goulburn, Tumut, Pambula, Googong, Batehaven, Cooma, Queanbeyan.

    The South East Sub Branch meeting, held on Friday 2 August, was well attended, with members from Anglican, Islamic, other independent schools and Catholic systemic schools all attending. Reps travelled from Batlow, Young, Jindabyne, Googong, Pambula, Goulburn, Grenfell, Boorowa, and Queanbeyan.

    The meeting welcomed acting Assistant Secretary Kendall Warren, who reported on negotiations for new agreements for teachers and professional and operational staff in the independent schools represented by the Association of Independent Schools (see page ).

    The following issues were raised:

    • staff shortages and the increase in teacher
      workloads
    • members are experiencing loss/changes to
      RFF without consultation, unsafe work
      practices, changes to work hours and
      increased co-curricular demands
    • ‘grace and favour’ allocation of classes is
      leading to inequitable workloads and a lack of
      opportunities for professional growth
      (with some staff consistently allocated
      “difficult” classes) affecting staff morale and
      wellbeing
    • lack of information on payslips
    • redundancy and the implications for members
      – the process for deciding who is to be made
      redundant.

    There are also ongoing issues around reporting for NCCD and Teacher Professional Development. There is still duplication and excessive demands on teachers in Catholic systemic schools, with requirements varying across schools. Organisers agreed to meet with the employer to determine what they are requiring of schools and whether it complies with NCCD and NESA/TQI requirements.

    Jackie Groom Organiser


    Southern Suburbs

    The Southern Suburbs Sub Branch covers the St George area and Sutherland Shire.

    There was a great turnout in person and on Zoom at the Southern Suburbs Sub Branch meeting. A growing number of reps from independent schools expressed concerns about the suggested workload solution presented by the Association of Independent Schools: that is, increased mandatory attendance during student holiday periods, as well as classification of teacher’s aides and support staff pay in general (see page).

    Catholic systemic reps raised issues concerning time-consuming WHS compliance in TAS classrooms, a lack of support to enable testing of phonics with primary school students, and disruption to learning caused by the Amadeus program. Thinking forward to the renegotiations of their agreement, they suggested a limit on the number of students in prac classes.

    The meeting welcomed industrial officer George Maniatis, who talked about the ongoing negotiations for members in Christian schools, and IEU media and communications coordinator Monica Crouch, who updated the sub branch on the union’s campaign for pay rises for community preschool teachers and recent media event (see page).

    The Term 4 meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 30 October.

    Josef Dabbs Organiser