Vol. 9 No. 1
Q
April 2010
i I B Z
The newsletter for ELICOS & Business College sector members
How will the new Modern Award affect the In ELICOS and Business College Sectors? this edition From 1 January 2010 the federal government implemented a new award that changes wages and conditions in the ELICOS sector. This Educational Services (Post Secondary Education) Award has been implemented as part of the government’s decision to simplify the system by reducing the number of Awards across Australia.
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Modern Awards
QCE
The new award now covers both teaching and non teaching staff in ELICOS colleges. However, this award fails to bring any significant improvements to ELICOS employee conditions. In addition, the new award does not include the casual conversion clause of the previous award.
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IES
QCT Registration
Communication Networks
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ELICOS Training
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Member Profile
Casual Conversion under the previous award enabled casual staff who had been employed for a certain amount of time, to apply to move from casual employment to permanency. The decision for an employee to make this transition was still at the employer’s discretion.; however, the clause provided a structural framework for the application to be given due consideration. Without this clause in the award there is nothing that gives employers any reason to consider any requests that employees have to be made permanent, regardless of the time that the employee has worked with the college. However, many colleges which are in the process of collectively bargaining are looking to put this clause into their new agreement. The wages have remained relatively unchanged for both full time and daily rates with casual rates changing slightly. These rates still undervalue the work that our teachers and staff do in ELICOS colleges.
In other colleges employees are entitled to the increases immediately. As the status of the award is different between colleges, please contact your union to find out when the changes to your wages need to come into effect. The only way that you can improve on the award wages and conditions is to start a Collective Agreement with your colleagues. Collective Agreements can improve wages and conditions for all staff at your college covering such issues as hours of duty or professional development, neither of which are covered in the award. By working as a workforce collective alongside your union, improvements to wages and conditions can be achieved for staff at your workplace. If you would like to discuss starting a Collective Agreement or to find out when your school needs to implement any payment differences please contact your organiser on (07) 3839 7020 or email elicos@qieu.asn.au.
ELICOS Activist Training Do you want to know more about your rights at work? Do you enjoy being active in your workplace? Do you want to work with your colleagues to improve your workplace? Training is a great way to get involved and learn about improving your workplace. Come along to one of our afternoon sessions to learn about your rights at work, to gain an understanding of the process behind Collective Bargaining and to find out how to approach your colleagues about getting involved with your union.
Employees will remain on their current classification level under the Educational Services (Post Secondary Education) Award, however this wage structure is subject to future changes.
Training is also a great opportunity to meet people from other colleges and hear about how members have successfully campaigned for collective agreements.
In colleges which were respondent to the previously existing Teachers (English Colleges) Award, new wages will be phased in across the next four years.
The next session will be held at 4:00pm on Thursday, May 6 2010 at the QIEU office 346 Turbot Street, Spring Hill.
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QUEENSLAND COLLEGE OF
INTERNATIONAL
ENGL ISH
EDUCATION SERVICES
The ELICOS sector has lost a major player with the Queensland College of English (QCE) going into voluntary administration in early February. QCE was part of the GEOS international group and had seven schools in Australia, including three in Queensland, all of which have now been closed. Staff were not given any warning of the school’s closure and have wages and entitlements owning to them. The administrator advised it was unlikely the company would be able to afford to pay what was owed to employees at QCE. Students have been assured the government will review student requirements around their student visas and English Australia are responsible for organising student placements into other colleges. As their union, we have been advising and supporting the members at QCE. Members have been assisted in applying for the government program General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS) which is in place to help workers recover wages and lost entitlements from their employers who are going into administration. QCE Brisbane has been a strong union chapter over the last 20 years and, more recently, members had been working with management to negotiate a collective agreement. Members have been actively involved in various union activities such as Labour Day, ELICOS network meetings and have shown commitment to our union campaigns. The QCE Brisbane union chapter will be greatly missed, but we look forward to seeing members at their new work places and wish them all the best in their future endeavours.
Members at the International Education Services (an international college that feeds students into first year university studies) have met recently to discuss the preparation of a log of claims to assist in the negotiation of a replacement collective agreement. The College’s current agreement is due to expire in early 2011. Union members at the College have determined that it is essential to be properly prepared for the commencement of negotiations. In order to be in the best possible position to begin negotiations, staff are now discussing issues regarding their employment as well as talking to their colleagues about becoming active union members. A further meeting of members to discuss substantive issues for the log of claims will be convened in the near future. For further information contact your ELICOS organiser or FREECALL 1800 177 937.
RIGHT: IES building in Spring Hill, Brisbane
For more information on retention or entitlements, please contact your ELICOS organiser on FREECALL 1800 177 937.
QCT Registration and the ELICOS Teacher: Your Working Rights If you are a former primary or high school teacher from the state or private sectors, you would have been registered with the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT). Many of our members in the ELICOS industry have chosen to continue this registration in case they decide to return to school teaching at a later date.
“Returning to Teaching in a School,” program on their return. This is the same program that people who have not taught in their time out of the classroom have to take. This is because according to QCT a ‘School’ is defined as a state or non-state school and therefore, any work as a teacher in an ELICOS college is not technically classified as teaching. Many of our ELICOS teachers have taken offence at this stance and we are asking for submissions from teachers about their thoughts on this issue. We would welcome your opinions/concerns on this matter.
As such many of these teachers have continued to pay their annual fees to QCT. While QCT will continue to register teachers working in the ELICOS sector, teachers who have been out of a government recognised school for five years will be required to complete a
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Please email elicos@qieu.asn.au if you would like to provide us with a submission. For more information, please contact your ELICOS organiser on FREECALL 1800 177 937.
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Communication Networks Effective communication is an essential step in workplace organisation and is critical to building a strong collective in your college. When your union chapter needs to get a message out or get feedback on an issue, effective communication structures are vital. It can be hard to do this not only because of the busy nature of the job, but also due to staff being on different timetables, located in different work areas or undertaking different jobs. One way to overcome such hurdles is to analyse your workplace in the form of a workplace map. Workplace maps can be used to ascertain how each section of staff, such as casuals, part-time, full time, administration and support staff, are represented. Mapping is a way of analysing your workplace which gives you useful information to help you communicate with your colleagues, recruit new members and organise your workplace. There are a variety of ways of creating communication networks in your workplace.
Our goal should be to have one active contact for every five to 10 employees, so they only have to speak to a few people one-on-one and so that every worker can be communicated with quickly and effectively. Communication networks rely on active members who are willing to undertake a small set of tasks each, such as being a point of contact for union emails and distributing them to other members, as well as talking one-to-one to members in their area. It is important to be aware and prepared for the network to change sporadically, as some workers will move on to another college or leave the workplace for whatever reason. However, it is imperative that despite this disruption we have at least one good contact in every work area, so that one-to-one contact with new workers can continue along with the network continuing to grow. Once there is a one-to-one network operating effectively we are close to having a well organised and developed Workplace Organising Committee. For more information about communication networks in your college, please contact your ELICOS organiser on FREECALL 1800 177 937.
One of the most useful and simple is to utilise the various work areas. If a contact person can be identified in each staffroom or office, then passing messages out can be made a lot easier. Other ways of forming communication networks include considering social groupings, people who are involved in activities outside work together or people on the same work roster. Formal communication networks need to be constantly updated and given the transient nature of this sector, this is particularly important. By keeping a contact list up-to-date it is much easier to follow up new staff, keep track of your progress and determine new priorities.
important member meeting and training dates
EIN MEETINGS Wednesday, 21 April 2010 at 4:30pm
Zen Bar POST OFFICE SQUARE - BRISBANE Thursday, 22 April 2010 at 4:30pm
THE OASIS - BROADBEACH
ELICOS ACTIVIST TRAINING On Thursday, 6 May 2010 at 4:00pm IEUA-QNT is holding Activist Training for ELICOS members. If you would like to be a part of this session please contact your organiser on FREECALL 1800 177 937 or email elicos@qieu.asn.au Page
BiZ QBiZ QBiZ QBiZ QBiZ QBiZ QBiZ QBiZ QBiZ QBiZ QBiZ QBiZ QBiZ QBiZ QBiZ QBiZ QBiZ you and so that you are aware of your rights at work. What do you enjoy most about being an ELICOS teacher? I teach mostly test courses so I mostly enjoy helping my students to achieve their goals and passing the test. What are the specific challenges you face as a teacher in the ELICOS sector? The thing I enjoy the most is helping the students achieve their goals. It’s often difficult for them and they make so much effort so it’s really pleasing to see many achieve their goals. How has QIEU helped you and your colleagues achieve better pay and conditions? Certainly when we had back - pay issues a couple of years ago the union helped to ensure that we were paid. At the moment we are still working closely with the union to achieve better working conditions and appropriate pay. What advice would you give to beginning teachers in the ELICOS sector? Make sure you prepare for your lessons and know what you’re talking about because the students always know if you don’t!
Member Snapshot Name: Sonia Lever College: Shafston College Position: Teacher IEUA-QNT Member: Since 2007 How long have you been working at Shafston and what is your position? I have been working at Shafston since 2001 with a break of two years in Japan between 2004 and 2006. Why have you chosen to teach in the ELICOS sector? I really enjoy teaching English to foreign students as I enjoy meeting people from different cultures. Why did you become a member of QIEU and why is membership of your union important to you? To be honest I originally became a member of QIEU because of some pay issues we were having at Shafston. I realised that without our union I was standing alone with no-one to help me.
Need Your Questions Answered? Do you have queries or concerns? Do you need answers to questions about your workplace or conditions? Please contact QIEU and speak to a Member Services Officer or your organiser on
What would you say to colleagues who are not yet members of our union? You should definitely join so you have the union working to defend
FREECALL: 1800 177 937
ISSN 1446-8964 QBiZ was prepared by Natalie Zematis, Danielle Randall, Caryl Rosser, Nick Holliday, Belinda Hogan-Collis and Lauren Bremner. Editor: Mr Terry Burke, General Secretary QIEU PO BOX 418, FORTITUDE VALLEY QLD 4006 PH: (07) 3839 7020 FX: (07) 3839 7021 Email: enquiries@qieu.asn.au Website: www.qieu.asn.au ABN : 45 620 218 172
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