Pay rates in the ELICOS industry award, the Educational Services (Post Secondary Education) Award 2020, increased by 3.75% from 1 July, in line with the increase handed down in the annual national wage case.
This year’s increases were achieved following extensive lobbying from the union movement (including the IEU) and are a good example of how your commitment to your union pays off.
For teachers, this means the Level 4 annual salary is now $63,797.96, and the casual daily rate is $305.55. For Level 7 teachers, the new rates are $69,664.91 (annual) and $333.64 (casual daily), while for Level 12 teachers, the annual salary is now $79,256.49, and the casual daily rate is $379.58.
Meanwhile, for general professional staff, Level 2 employees now earn up to $54,848.03 per annum, Level 3 earn $59,730.83 and Level 4 earn $63,773.75.
Union agreements improve on awards
While the award provides baseline salaries and conditions, workers achieve real benefits through negotiating an enterprise agreement. Your union has been active in deals for better pay and conditions during 2024.
In June, the IEU reached an agreement in principle with UTS College (formerly known as Insearch), with pay rises of 4% in 2024 and 4.5% in 2025. Voting will take place in July, and teachers at the college should receive the new rates (with the first increase backdated to February) by August.
Also in June, the union reached agreement with Navitas Skilled Futures (formerly Navitas English) for a one-year agreement from 1 July, with a pay rise of 4.1%, which should bridge the gap while we wait for the federal government to finalise a review into the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) and other government programs delivered by NSF.
This agreement also encompasses several administrative increases agreed with the IEU since the last agreement expired in 2021.
The IEU will also soon commence negotiations for new agreements at Western Sydney University The College and University of Wollongong College.
The Fair Work Act includes provisions for “good faith bargaining”, under which an employer can be compelled to negotiate when it can be demonstrated that a majority of employees (or group of employees, such as teachers) want that to happen. To find outhow this might work at your workplace, contact your union.
Immigration slows
In 2023, there were a record number of arrivals into Australia, about 500,000, as the nation rebounded after the closed borders of the pandemic.
These high numbers, fuelled in large part by the return of international students, put significant pressure on the federal government from some quarters to “do something” about immigration, and the government responded by putting some restrictions in place.
These changes, while perhaps necessary, have had a negative effect on the international student market, even without the student caps that have been mooted if numbers did not decrease.
There are now some early indications that these measures are having the desired effect, with migration numbers generally and international student numbers in particular declining over the first six months of 2024.
It’s still early days of course, but hopefully this trend will continue without the need for blunt implements such as student caps.