National Outlook December 2011
Issue 3, December 2011
School funding campaign IEU members from Catholic and Independent schools across NSW and ACT raised their concerns about the future of non-government education at a lunch-time rally at the ALP National Conference on Saturday, 3 December 2011. The rally coincided with a ‘fringe event’ hosted by the IEU on school funding and is the first of many public demonstrations in support of fair funding to non- government schools. As the year ends, the most significant review into school funding will draw to a close and the Gonski Panel will make its recommendations to the Federal Government directly. The changes to the legislation which provides federal funding to schools will need to be passed by both Houses of the Federal Parliament next year. The new funding arrangements will then be delivered in time for the next funding period in 2013. Thus IEU member political lobbying delegations have become vitally important. Already many IEU members across the country have been active in meeting with their local politician and demanding the following from the Federal Government: • A resource benchmark of funding for each student, which underpins the school funding system and properly acknowledges the right for a decent education for all students; • A complete overhaul of the funding for students with special learning needs or disabilities, where full funding is met for these students irrespective of the sector they are enrolled in; • Indexation based on AGSRC (education inflation) not CPI ; and • An appropriate transition period. This action must continue through 2012 until the new legislation is passed. To further support this campaign, the IEU Federal Executive has authorised a national campaign to fight for fair funding for non-government schools. Resources will be provided to the campaign to ensure public advertising, public website and social media access, and even greater involvement in political lobbying. We cannot afford to remain silent when our members’ jobs are at stake.
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EDUCATION NEWS Performance Pay for Teachers In the lead up to the last election, the Gillard Government announced a new funding process to deliver a national system of pay bonus for teachers. On 25 November 2011, the Federal Government announced that teachers are accredited to the highest level of standards would be rewarded with the first payments delivered in 2014. In the first year, funding would be available to 8,000 teachers nationally and this would increase in future years as the standards and performance framework is rolled out to full implementation in 2015. Payments would be ‘one off’ and the government has announced that the method of assessing a teacher’s performance would include a range of evidence such as: •
Lesson observations;
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Student performance data;
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Parental feedback;
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Teachers’ qualifications and professional development undertaken.
The IEU has rejected the ‘one-off’ bonus payment system, and instead will continue to lobby for a more sensible, industrial structure which recognises teaching excellence in an ongoing way. The IEU has extensive experience in negotiating successful industrial agreements which are underpinned by teacher standards, recognise excellence in the classroom, and are accessible and without quota. The IEU Education Committee will draw upon this experience in its branches and continue its work in developing a more appropriate policy for recognition of accomplished teachers. Information on the IEU policy regarding Quality teaching can be located at www.ieu.org.au/214.html Early Childhood Education and Care In October 2011, the National Regulations for Early Childhood Education and Care were approved by the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs. The IEU has been active in reviewing and making comment on the draft National Regulations through submissions made on 14 April 2011 and attending numerous stakeholder meetings during the year. The National Regulations will now bring into force by 1 January 2012, the National Quality Frameworks which covers Long Day Care, Family Day Care, Outside School Hours Care and Preschool Services. While National Quality reforms for the sector are commendable, the IEU has strongly argued that the salaries and conditions of employment for teachers working in early childhood education and care centres must be comparable to the salaries and conditions in other educational settings in order to overcome staff shortages and guarantee quality of education. State and Federal governments must make a commitment to significantly increase the amount of funding not only to cover the costs in implementing the National Quality reforms but also to guarantee that teaching staff receive parity of salaries and conditions with those of their colleagues in schools. Organising Members Nationally This year the IEU Organising and Campaigning Committee delivered the first IEU Representatives in Edmund Rice Education Australia Conference which was held on 14 October 2011. The IEU had received notice that Edmund Rice Education schools would become nationally governed as a group of schools under Edmund Rice Education Australia with plans for further schools to become either newly developed or “associated with” EREA as time progresses. A common national employing authority provides our union with many opportunities; in particular the strengthening of union culture and the articulation of underpinning principles for commonality. Thus, the Conference focussed on the way in which members work as activists in their schools. The conference
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was attended by 50 chapter representatives from the majority of schools across the country and a pre-conference dinner was hosted with guest speakers Dr Wayne Tinsey, Executive Director and Dick Shearman, President of IEU/ Branch secretary to IEU NSW/ACT. branch News SA Branch School Officers and their teaching colleagues in Lutheran Schools fought for and won pay justice in their latest round of enterprise bargaining. Originally, the Lutheran Schools Association in South Australia had placed an outrageous employer claim for differential increases for school officers compared to teachers. Through the collective action of members and a successful postcard campaign – LSOs are Worth It – the injustice of this negotiating position was overturned.
Women Conferences - The future belongs to those who give the next generation hope. QLD/NT Branch This year saw the IEU QNT branch inaugural Townsville Women’s Conference as a resounding success with feedback from participants pointing to a remarkable energy. Attendees gained the opportunity to network with other women educators which sparked enthusiasm, passion, motivation and ideas. Associate Professor, Gracelyn Smallwood harnessed the passion of female educators with her welcome to country in which she acknowledged the power of the collective by greeting participants as “deadly women”. Other speakers stressed the need to ensure that women made the time to think about their careers, and to articulate their strengths and dreams. Members attended relevant workshops such as Discrimination in Education; School mentoring; Supporting School Communities through a Focus on Domestic Violence; and Finding Work/Life balance. NSW/ACT Branch In addition, over 120 women from the IEU NSW/ ACT participated in the conference in Sydney this year. This year’s conference incorporated the launch by IEU General Secretary Dick Shearman of the Union’s updated Guide to Parental and Personal/Carer’s Leave. An international perspective was provided by observations by IEU President Christine Wilkinson who participated in the recent Education International Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. In particular, she highlighted the serious plight of women and families facing famine and war in Somalia and other parts of East Africa. IEU Assistant Secretary Christine Cooper presented an update on the human rights crisis in Fiji and its impact on union members, including teachers and school staff. International News IEU supports NASUWT campaign to reclaim the classroom The IEU stands in solidarity with the members of the largest teacher’s union in the UK as they take action to reclaim the classroom and their profession Over 220 000 teachers and school leaders voted 92% in favour of member action in the face of relentless attacks on their working conditions, pensions and jobs. Over the past 18 months, teachers in the UK have been faced with a rising tide of excessive workload and spiraling levels of teacher redundancies, attacks on pensions, employer refusals to honour the contractual rights of teachers and extreme workload pressures. NASUWT has reported that all of this has taken a serious toll on the morale of teachers, with almost half their members seriously considering leaving the profession. As an effort to resist these attacks by the Coalition Governments on the teaching profession, NASUWT members will commence concerted and coordinated industrial action.
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The National Day of Action which took place on 30 November 2011 will be followed by a series of further action that will see NASUWT members reclaim the classroom from the shackles of unnecessary paperwork, bureaucracy and debilitating accountability The IEU supports all NASUWT members in this vital fight for the future of the teaching profession in the UK. IEU members can send their messages of support to nasuwt@mail.nasuwt.org.uk Fiji Union Leaders Released Fiji Trade Union Congress President Daniel Urai and General Secretary Felix Anthony were released from prison in November 2011. Their release was achieved through strong international union member campaigning. IEU members participated in a postcard campaign that has put international attention on Commodore Josaia Voreque Bainimarama’s regime Through the collective attention of our union and other unions nationally and internationally together with International Labour Organisation, the High Commission of Australia, the High Commission of UK and Amnesty International, support for Fijian unionists has been unwavering and the world has placed the Fijian regime on notice. Campaign Must Continue Unfortunately, the matter is unlikely to end with the releases of Daniel Urai and Felix Anthony. Daniel Urai has been released on bail with sureties made for Daniel by our teaching colleagues, the Fiji Teacher’ Union and by the Fiji Islands Council of Trade Unions. But he still remains under charges of sedition and on a curfew and must report to the police daily. While Anthony Felix was released without charges, the Fijian Assistant Police Commissioner has said that “Anthony may be brought in again for questioning when the need arises” Thus, the campaign for Fijian workers’ rights, safety and well-being must continue.
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