QUEENSLAND INDEPENDENT EDUCATION UNION INDEPENDENT EDUCATION UNION OF AUSTRALIA – QUEENSLAND & NORTHERN TERRITORY BRANCH
BRISBANE 346 TURBOT ST SPRING HILL QLD 4000 PO BOX 418 FORTITUDE VALLEY
Phone: 07 3839 7020 Fax: 07 3839 7021 Freecall: 1800 177937 Email: enquiries@qieu.asn.au Internet: www.qieu.asn.au ABN: 45 620 218 712
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Colb6PAR016rm
QUEENSLAND CATHOLIC SCHOOLS POSITIONS OF ADDED RESPONSIBILITY CHAPTER BRIEFING No. 1
Joint Working Party – PAR Review Dear Colleagues The collective Agreement provides for the establishment of a Joint Working Party to review and make recommendations on a modern Positions of Added Responsibility (PAR) structure for Queensland Catholic schools. The current provisions, with some amendments, are twenty years old and a review is long overdue. Scope of PAR Review A Joint Working Party report will be prepared by 31 October 2011. This report will make recommendations regarding the basis of the overall resource provisions for PAR and its allocation at a school level. Our task will also be to develop contemporary PAR structures and operational provisions, consistent with the operational needs of the school in regard to pastoral, academic and any other positions of added responsibility. Areas under consideration in this process will include:
Structures for primary, secondary and P-10 / P-12 schools; Appropriate payment and release time structures and levels within the established quantum of resources; Appointment, tenure, renewal and termination provisions; Appropriate role statements and selection criteria consistent with the structures; and The impact of existing structures and contractual arrangements on any recommendations, structures and provisions, including recommendations for transitional arrangements.
The Joint Working Party’s deliberations will take account of best practice, developments in other sectors, emerging contexts such as the National Professional Standards for Teachers and National Curriculum and Assessment and relevant industrial standards. Joint Working Party In response to the recent IEUA – QNT member survey a large number of PAR members expressed interest in a representative role on the Joint Working Party. The Working Party provisions provide for five employee representatives. The Employee Representatives to the Joint Working Party have now been confirmed as follows: Chris Carlill Kylie Dell Kylie Mathers Joanne James
St Patrick’s College, Shorncliffe (5 – 12) Lourdes Hill College, Brisbane (8 – 12) Marymount College (Secondary), Gold Coast (8 – 12) St Anthony’s College, Townsville (P-12)
Christian Brothers RI Girls’ school BCE TCEO
I will also join the employee negotiating group, supported by Ros McLennan (Assistant Secretary, IEUA – QNT). In constructing a balanced and representative employee negotiating team, considerations such as employer grouping, region, gender, curriculum versus pastoral PAR, PAR point level and school year levels were all taken into account. The employers have now confirmed with us that Vicki Ward will be the Chair of the Joint Working Party and that five Employer Representatives have also now been nominated. Member consultation A three-tier consultative structure has been devised to maximise PAR member input into this process. Employee Representatives to the Joint Working Party will be closely supported by another small group of 9 employees, forming our State Reference Group. A larger group of PAR members will form our Regional Reference Group. This structure will best enable PAR members to be briefed regularly throughout the ensuing negotiations and have the opportunity to provide timely feedback to the negotiating group. Next steps On the basis of the extensive PAR member survey conducted over recent months, a clear picture of the key pressure points is readily understood. At the beginning of Term 1 next year, a discussion paper will be forwarded summarising the emerging issues and possible considerations for a revised structure. Your early chapter feedback will be critical to informing the employee negotiating position. A full meeting of the Joint Working Party will occur in February 2011. In close It is worth noting at the start of any process that although resource needs are infinite in most school settings, available resources are not. By January 2012, we will have achieved a resource allocation of ‘at least parity’ between Queensland state and Catholic schools. The challenge now is to develop a new sector model that continues to mind comparable resource allocations for schools of similar enrolment size, ever recognising the inherent differences in structure between the Queensland state and Catholic sectors. There has not been a full review of the PAR structure, operational arrangements and other provisions since their inception twenty years ago. Clearly, the time has now come to take a closer look at the structure and resourcing of positions of added responsibility in Queensland Catholic schools. Kind regards
TERRY BURKE SECRETARY