In 2006, teachers in independent schools faced a dilemma: to take the money or the box – higher pay or improved conditions.
Eighteen years later, the Association of Independent Schools NSW (AIS) has presented the same conundrum to teachers in a video it released in early December.
But this is a false dilemma. Teachers deserve both fair pay and transparent working conditions, and it’s time to move beyond this spurious dichotomy.
The fallacy of the ‘money versus box’ conundrum
The so-called “choice” between the money and the box oversimplifies a much more complex issue. Behind this metaphor lies a significant challenge: streamlining nine disparate industrial instruments into a single multi-enterprise agreement (MEA).
The IEU and the AIS – representing 244 independent schools across NSW and the ACT – are tasked with the challenge of reconciling different pay rates, classification structures and working conditions into one instrument.
This task requires transitional arrangements to ensure all teachers are treated fairly as they transition into a 7-steps (or 8-steps in the ACT) classification pay structure.
For the IEU, as the bargaining representative for employees, the goal is clear: to protect our members and ensure no teacher is left worse off in the process, either in pay or in working conditions.
Key issues in bargaining
The IEU has identified three key critical issues with the AIS’s proposal:
1.Pay disparity
Experienced Proficient teachers employed in an independent school are being paid less than newly hired teachers with the same level of experience coming into the same school.
2.Workload transparency
Employers have resisted including a clause that requires them to outline workload expectations for the teaching staff in their school. This is particularly important for part-time teachers, who need clarity to ensure their duties align fairly with their full-time equivalent (FTE) load.
3. Special education allowances
The special education allowance, traditionally provided to teachers in schools for special purposes (SSPs), has been reduced or removed. This is particularly disturbing when we know that government schools continue to pay this allowance for teachers working in SSPs.
What is ‘the money’?
The AIS claims the pay offer for teachers in independent schools is generous, but the IEU argues the problem isn’t the overall pay rates but the inequity within the transitional arrangements.
Let’s look at an example to highlight this problem. Under the proposed MEA, a Proficient teacher with six years of teaching experience would earn $120,962 in February 2025. However, a newly hired teacher with identical experience would earn $127,281.
The question is not about whether we want the money. The question is: is that fair? The stakes for teachers lie with the employers’ reluctance to provide back pay if the current AIS offer isn’t accepted immediately. Again, it begs the question: Is that fair?
The suggestion that teachers would prioritise money above all else is not only simplistic – it’s deeply insulting to the profession. For teachers, this isn’t just about securing higher pay, it’s about ensuring fairness across the board. It is about equity!
What is ‘the box’?
The contents of “the box” remain unclear to us. What is evident, however, is that the proposed MEA in its current form is not acceptable to the IEU or its members for the reasons outlined above.
To push for the respect that teachers deserve, we need to change the rules of bargaining. The only way we can send this message to the AIS is by members signing the IEU petition for single interest bargaining.
Fairness and transparency: the real endgame
Ultimately, the choice between the money and the box is a false one. Teachers are not asking for one or the other – they’re asking for fairness, equity and transparency in their pay and workload expectations.
This debate isn’t about greed; it’s about respect for the teaching profession. We need to stand together and be heard.
If you know a colleague working in an independent school who is not yet a member of the union, encourage them to join. We can only be stronger together!