Newsmonth #3 - April 2020

The newspaper of the Independent Education Union of Australia NSW/ACT Branch (vol 40 #3) May 2020

ONLINE PP 100000871 ISSN No: 0728-4845

BUT NOT OUT While teachers and support staff are expertly accomplishing the rapid transition to online learning, they are also surmounting considerable challenges, writes Monica Crouch.

The coronavirus pandemic has imposed upon teachers an unprecedented upheaval: an almost overnight shift to online learning.

At the same time, it has revealed just how adaptable and innovative teachers are in managing this transition.

“Despite teething problems, the profession’s capacity to respond to the challenges has been remarkable,” said IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Assistant Secretary Liam Griffiths. “Teachers are managing the challenges as they arise, as they always do. They’re making new and better use of technology.”

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, the principal of SCEGGS Darlinghurst, Jenny Allum, emphasised what a “sterling

job” teachers are doing in the face of the coronavirus. “Their care for their students has been exemplary, their creativity to develop innovative lessons has been amazing, and they all deserve our greatest congratulations and encouragement,” Allum said, before expressing reservations about the new environment.

What it involves It’s no small thing for teachers to take their established lesson plans and transform them into structured online learning courses. It requires preparation time, IT support, access to resources, and a sound working knowledge of online platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom. Some schools were already part way down this path, others have started from scratch.

One factor is crucial. “It’s the human connection that will make the technology

effective,” said IEU organiser Pat Devery.

But maintaining this connection through a screen is not easy.

Support staff are helping teachers get set up for online class delivery, undertaking research into online resources, providing technical backup, developing and preparing class material, dealing with correspondence, liaising with high-needs students and taking small online groups for targeted work.

“Teachers have embraced this online transition and it’s the perfect opportunity for the profession to be at the forefront of decision making,” Devery said. “Parents and schools need to show faith in teachers.”

Exposing the issues But if any of this sounds like the brave new education utopia some commentators are touting, it’s not. One teacher described it as “changing horses in a fast moving stream”.

“Distance learning is really hard,” the principal of St Patrick's Marist Dundas, Angela Hay, said. “If you try to substitute what you do inside the classroom over into a distance learning model, it's just not sustainable. It's way too hard. You can’t give feedback to every student in every lesson.”

Members are reporting substantial work intensification and lack of time to develop resources. While there is clearly plenty of work for all, casuals have been suspended or had their hours reduced and support staff have been stood down.

Yet reporting requirements in the new online environment have ramped up.

Teachers at Georges River Grammar School in Georges Hall have been asked to email a report on each student to parents every week, while teachers at Malek Fahd Islamic School in Greenacre are expected to make a weekly phone call to each student’s parents.

Online teaching brings class sizes into Continued on page 2

Union a safe refuge “In this era of crisis, the union movement has again proven itself to be the clear and safe refuge for all workers.”

The COVID-19 public health crisis and the resulting financial and employment insecurity that has accompanied it, has driven a remarkable surge in new union members. This is broadly consistent with the rest of the union movement in the first quarter of 2020.

During this turbulent time, the IEU has welcomed over 1200 new members to its ranks – over 1200 new

teachers, teacher aides, librarians, administrative staff, early childhood teachers, IT support staff, college lecturers, learning coordinators and principals. All are new members who are employed under various arrangements including casual, part time, temporary, and full time contracts.

In this era of crisis, the union movement has again proven itself to be the clear and safe refuge for all

workers, including the vulnerable and otherwise unrepresented. We are proud to assist and support our members navigating this perilous moment and are heartened to see collective solidarity and the crucial work of the union movement resonating strongly.

To every one of our new members, we extend a warm welcome. Thank you for standing with us so we can stand with you.

Continued from page 1

ONLINE BUT NOT OUT sharp relief: managing 30 or so students on Zoom is particularly challenging. Keeping in close contact with at-risk students is also problematic, particularly when they lack a supportive home environment and technological resources. Initial studies reveal that physical disconnection from school is deleterious to these students.

Teaching prac-based subjects such as art, drama, chemistry, music, and technical and applied sciences is also tricky. While theory may become the temporary focus, teachers are devising creative workarounds, with one directing science students to measure the density of household objects. But this isn’t possible in all subjects.

The coronavirus has also complicated work, health and safety issues for school communities. While many schools have allowed staff who are at risk (those over 60, those with underlying health conditions and pregnant women) to work from home, some, such as St Brendan’s Catholic Primary School in Bankstown, insisted all staff continue working onsite – until, that is, the IEU contacted Sydney Catholic Schools.

Video conferencing from home comes with its own issues for teachers, including privacy concerns, security of digital platforms and who pays for wifi, subscriptions and devices. Teachers also need new ways to support each other in the absence of staffroom camaraderie.

(vol 40 #3) May 2020

Contents

News

1, 2, 5, 7, 13, 14, 17, 19

Features 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 17

International 12

Reports 4, 5, 7, 14, 16

Member stories 1, 3, 13, 15

Member benefits 2, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20

Letter to the editor 18 Newsmonth is published eight times a year (two issues per term) by the Independent Education Union of Australia NSW/ACT Branch Executive Editor: Mark Northam, Secretary for and on behalf of the IEU Executive and members Managing Editor: Bronwyn Ridgway Journalist: Monica Crouch Graphic Design: Chris Ruddle Online Journalist and Photographer: Angus Hoy Contributions and letters from members are welcome. These do not reflect endorsement if printed, and may be edited for size and style at the Editor's discretion. They should be forwarded to: Newsmonth 485-501 Wattle Street ULTIMO NSW 2007 GPO Box 116 SYDNEY NSW 2001 Tel: 8202 8900 Toll free: 1800 467 943 Email: ieu@ieu.asn.au www.ieu.asn.au

facebook.com/ieunswact twitter.com/#!/IEUNSWACT Instagram.com/ieunswact

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Standing up for support staff While stand downs and reduced hours have been rife in the early childhood education sector, other sectors are guilty of this too: Newcastle Grammar School has reduced hours for specialist teachers and a teacher’s aide; Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar at Terranora has stood down general assistants, librarians and IT support staff.

All Saints Grammar at Belmore issued stand down notices to teacher aides, administrative staff and bus drivers without notice or consultation. After the union disputed this in the Fair Work Commission, the school withdrew the stand downs (see page 5).

Teachers need to collaborate with support staff to deliver quality education online. “Our support staff members who are education assistants, teacher aides and learning support officers have a fundamental role in bridging the gap between the classroom and online teaching,” Griffiths said.

Taking action The IEU has partnered with members in primary and secondary schools, early learning centres and post-secondary colleges to advocate for employee rights in this unprecedented time. Despite the upheaval wrought by the coronavirus, all industrial instruments remain firmly in place.

The union rejects expectations of “double” teaching, and fully supports teachers in contending with just one mode of instruction – either online or face to face – not both. Staffing levels should be maintained to support this.

“The union has stepped up pressure on state and federal education ministers to support and protect teachers,” Griffiths said. “It has taken support staff stand downs to the Fair Work Commission. It has called for a rescue package for the early childhood sector. Organisers have prepared detailed documents setting out alternative duties for general staff and answering FAQs from teachers who are working remotely.” (These documents can all be found on the union’s website.)

“More than ever, respecting the voice of the profession is essential to making this work,” Griffiths said. “Too often teachers are dictated to by parents, government, society and the media. Teachers know what they’re doing and need to have that respected.”

Hay agrees. “My teachers know best,” she said. “They know what works in a classroom. So we've given a lot of flexibility and time to them to work out what online learning is going to look like for them.” (see Testing positive: Principal shares school's response to virus outbreak, page 9.)

Welcome to new members We trust you are all well and taking care of yourselves and your loved ones as we navigate our way through these unprecedented times that seem to change on a daily basis.

A warm welcome to all our members who have joined (or rejoined) us since March 2020. Your membership is vitally important. It enables the union to continue to support you and other members throughout NSW and the ACT in these very difficult times. Stay connected and encourage others to renew their membership if they haven’t already done so.

If your circumstances have changed or if you are unsure of your membership status, please contact membership@ieu.asn.au

We are keeping members up to date via email, text, social media and our website. If you have not received any correspondence from us, please make sure your contact details are up to date.

If you think the contact information we have for you may be incorrect, just advise us by email: membership@ieu.asn.au Exemption for casual members In recognition of the impact COVID-19 is having on your employment, we are offering our casual members (both teachers and support staff) a fee exemption.

We invite members who are financial to apply for this exemption and the cutoff date for applications is 22 May 2020.

Please email your fee exemption request to membership@ieu.asn.au, include your full name, membership number, address, mobile number, and email address.

If you have dues outstanding for 2020, your membership will be advanced for a six month period. If you have already paid your 2020 membership fees a six month credit will be issued to be used against 2021 – this credit will remain on your record until used. No refunds will be issued on credit amounts.

Take care and stay safe.

IEU Membership Team

FEE RELIEF FOR CASUAL MEMBERS

Casual teachers and support staff who are IEU members impacted by COVID-19 can now apply for a fee exemption* *Terms and Conditions apply

SAY IT LOUD Meet the rep who makes innovative use of school infrastructure.

Craig McKenzie says he “didn’t think too much of it” when he took over the school’s PA to announce a chapter meeting was set to start.

McKenzie, who is the union rep at John Therry Catholic College in Rosemeadow, near Campbelltown, also ran two meetings on the same day – at recess and lunchtime – and accepted proxies, to ensure as many members as possible could attend and vote.

“Just prior to the meeting kicking off at the start of recess I jump on the PA and give everyone that last friendly reminder,” McKenzie said.

This simple strategy works. On the day of his PA announcement in March, 61 IEU members had their say, voting unanimously to move forward on enterprise agreement negotiations.

“It was overall our biggest turnout in my history of John Therry chapter meetings, with most people having their say at recess where we were lucky to have [organiser] Dave Towson give us an update on current issues and their background,” said McKenzie, who has been the chapter rep since 2012.

Turns out the PA is a good recruitment tool: three new support staff members signed up on the day and two more teachers joined during the week. Twentytwo new members have joined in just two years, taking union membership at the school to 78 per cent of the teaching staff and 62 per cent of support staff.

As the coronavirus pandemic necessitates a new learning environment, teachers are busier than

ever, so PA announcements ensure staff get timely reminders of union meetings. They also normalise union membership and help educate the next generation. “There are always a few students who pick up on these announcements,” said McKenzie, who teaches business studies to Year 11, is closely involved with the school’s Aboriginal cohort, and also works intensively with students experiencing learning difficulties.

Having been a union member his entire teaching career, McKenzie has a few tips for budding union reps. “I find probably the most effective thing is conversations – kicking off conversations with other members and trying to engage non members,” he said. He encourages the younger members to talk to their colleagues and invite them to get involved.

He also favours “quality over quantity”, finding fewer chapter meetings mean greater attendance as members know that what is up for discussion really matters.

McKenzie is also the rep who once awarded two 30-year badges and bottles of wine to members at a big chapter meeting, followed by a 30-hour badge and can of beer to the newest member as a gesture of welcome.

“A little bit of humour never goes astray,” he said. Nor does announcing union meetings over the PA.

“It was overall our biggest turnout in my history of chapter meetings at John Therry.”

Monica Crouch Journalist

Fought and won “The good news is that workers fought this wage-cutting contract – and won.”

Unionised teachers at language schools have taught their employer a lesson, writes IEU member April Holcombe.

The COVID-19 crisis has hit English language schools hard. Bosses who made millions in the education boom are trying to offload these losses onto the workforce, who are among the lowest paid and most casualised educators in the country.

I work at International House (IH), where management recently tried to exploit the crisis with a brazen assault on our pay and conditions.

On the evening of Friday 3 April, all employees received a contract that would cut wages to 15 per cent below the industry award, including for the previous fortnight. It said IH could stop paying super and would only “endeavour” to pay it back “if/when” the crisis ended. This notice was even sent to teachers who had just been let go and who were expected to take a cut on their final pay.

The message was clear: if you don’t sign, you won’t have a job next week.

Everything in this contract appeared illegal and it wouldn’t save jobs. It would lead to a race to the bottom as competitors rush to impose the same contract on their employees. All this at a time when teachers are doing more unpaid work than ever to move classes online.

The good news is that workers fought this wage-cutting contract – and won.

IEU members in schools around the country came together on Zoom and WhatsApp. The contract was exposed in Facebook’s largest group for English teaching, #AusELT. Many teachers could see they weren’t alone, and unionists talked to workmates about why we had to oppose the contract.

IEU organisers wrote a scolding letter to management, promising immediate legal action if the new contract was not rescinded. The combined pressure was too much for IH. They promptly withdrew the contract first thing on

Monday 6 April, even for those who had signed it. It was an important victory in enormously difficult times.

As a new teacher, I’ve learned a valuable lesson: you can’t do anything alone. Without being connected to IEU members nationwide, it would have been impossible to organise a response on a weekend in self-isolation. Some IH schools have about 50 per cent union density thanks to the hard slog of union members over many years. This was the crucial factor in our victory. These teachers have since signed onto a list of demands to protect jobs and pay.

The other lesson I’ve learned is: be the worker who sticks up for what’s right, even when you think you’re the only one. Three or four teachers in Sydney who thought they were the only ones are now in regular communication.

Join your union, and convince your workmates to do the same. United we fight, divided we beg.

Back to school feature see P10-11

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Why the coronavirus is a crisis for women As IEU members are very much aware, the coronavirus pandemic has called on all of us to respond in a variety of creative and resilient ways, including meeting the challenges of remote teaching and learning.

Union members in all sectors of non government education have stepped up to provide education and care to their students and to support families whose lives and work have been severely disrupted. Principals, teachers in early childhood, teachers in primary and secondary schools and post-secondary settings, counsellors and support staff in many diverse roles, have adapted to the challenges of working from home and/or from their usual workplaces with sometimes very different work routines.

Members have been holding chapter meetings by telephone conference or via online platforms, finding creative ways to engage collectively and to ensure their voices are heard by their union and their employers.

At times members have needed to act together in relation to work health and safety issues and to protect their working conditions. In the words of one member: “We need to work flexibly and creatively but not to throw out our hard-won protections in the enterprise agreement and the work practices agreement.”

COVID-19 has also provided an opportunity to reflect on the nature of work and the intersection of work and family life, including the implications of working from home and the care of family members.

Women comprise more than 76% of IEU membership and more than 70% of workers in the health and care sectors globally. Women also form the majority of carers for families, the ill and the vulnerable.

The majority of care givers at home and in paid work are women. The impact of COVID-19 on women as workers and carers is therefore substantial.

As we know from the IEU’s Equal Remuneration Case for early childhood teachers, there is still a significant gender issue in the undervaluing of work mainly performed by women, and this is especially evident in early childhood, in aged care and in the community services sector.

Women are also potentially more vulnerable to employment insecurity. We can specifically identify these groups: casual teachers; support staff in schools; and teachers in early childhood education centres.

Within the context of COVID-19, the IEU has been strong in its advocacy for casuals and for protecting support staff against possible stand downs.

In the words of the United Nations, COVID-19 is not just a health issue but also a profound shock to societies and economies – and women are at the heart of care and response efforts. Leonora Risse, a lecturer in economics at RMIT University, National Chair of the Women in Economics Network of Australia, and a Research Fellow with the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard University, recently analysed Australia’s COVID-19 ‘frontline’ workforce. “Who is keeping us healthy and alive, who is keeping us clean, who is keeping us fed, supplied and commuting, who is looking after our families, and who is keeping us safe?” she asked.

She goes on to say: “With governments deciding to keep schools and early education and childcare centres open in Australia during the pandemic, I have added these occupations to this list too.”

These reflections on the work and care implications of COVID-19 are crucial for women and men as we navigate the current situation and look to the future.

“Women comprise more than 76% of IEU membership and more than 70% of workers in the health and care sectors globally.”

Pam Smith Assistant Secretary

What do we want? Safety for all These are fast changing and confusing times and the coming weeks will be a challenge for teachers, students and parents.

We entered the world of remote learning at the end of Term 1, which caused a certain amount of stress for all, but in most cases it seemed to work.

Some students engaged and attended all sessions; however, some chose to do more important things like attend their part time work or gather with friends or just do their own thing.

It will be interesting to see how Term 2 operates with the decisions that have been handed down by Premiers, government and health officials. The proposed plans have raised some

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very important issues and many more for debate and consultation not declaration.

How will social distancing be maintained when students begin returning to school? Will hand sanitiser, wipes and soap be readily available and who is going to clean and wipe desks at the end of each lesson, along with toilet blocks and bubblers?

We as teachers and support staff in all schools and sectors must insist and demand that these steps are in place from day one of Term 2 and we must insist on the safety of all workers in all schools as paramount.

Teachers in secondary schools will be in contact with young adults in Years 11 and

12 who have been working for most of the holidays, therefore coming into contact with the general public. In my opinion they will be a huge risk to both staff and fellow students. If at any time you feel your health is being compromised, work from home until you feel it’s safe to return to your workplace.

Flu injections are a must and are provided by most schools now, so make sure you take up the offer or organise to visit your doctor to receive your dose.

If your staff have any issues on returning to school, do not hesitate to call a chapter meeting and invite your organiser to attend. We must all work together for our safety and that of our

students during these challenging times.

On a brighter note, I hope you have all had a good break, catching up on some exercise and long walks, good novels and of course some Netflix and Stan programs. At least the weather has been in our favour with some glorious autumn days.

Good luck for Term 2. Keep an open mind. You all did a tremendous job at the end of Term 1 and should give yourself a pat on the back. We will get through this together and hopefully come out the other side proud of our achievements, happy and healthy, more patient, and experts at Zooming.

Chris Wilkinson President

Your safety is our highest priority port staff Keep teachers and sup talks at centre of COVID-19 COVID-19 stand down of support staff in independent schools

IEU responds to the federal government's early childhood package

Contradiction not clarity in government’s latest schools announcement

IEU response to NSW plan to transition back to the classroom in Term 2

• additional cleaning throughout the day • hand sanitiser in all classrooms.

Mark Northam Secretary

The wellbeing of our members is the chief concern as schools move to a hybrid model of education delivery in the third week of Term 2. The hours of work undertaken so far to achieve online learning should not be forgotten.

The dual model of online and a rostered school-based approach will entail a significant workload. Predicting attendance patterns, covering staff who cannot be present and ensuring safe distancing and hygiene in a school environment is complex. What do schools require?

• staff-student ratios of 1:10 • contactless thermometers • personal protective equipment – as appropriate

Teachers and support staff are owed a debt of gratitude by the wider community. The notion that teachers were “childminding” in the latter stage of Term 1 was promulgated by the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison. The union rejects this view.

Historically, it is most unusual for a Prime Minister to address teachers and implore a return to 'teaching'. But teaching had not stopped – teaching methods were altered through much work by the profession. The courtesy of meeting with the unions representing teachers was, however, overlooked.

The IEU is set to survey members to ensure we have a comprehensive understanding of what measures and strategies your workplace has adopted to manage the

pandemic. At the local level, shortcomings in relation to social distancing and supplies of hand sanitiser and PPE will be challenged through chapter action.

To borrow a phrase: teachers are pedalling as fast as they can. Let’s trust the necessary support will be forthcoming.

Catholic systemic enterprise agreement on hold The IEU met with the Catholic Commission for Employment Relations and the Directors of the Sydney and Parramatta Dioceses on 16 April. The union sought an interim pay increase of 2.5 per cent with bargaining in relation to conditions to recommence at a later date.

The employers rejected this proposal on financial grounds at this time. The parties will reconvene in week seven of Term 2. Teachers and support staff should rightly expect that their role as essential workers during the pandemic is recognised and pay parity retained. It’s not a big ask.

Union wins on stand downs Carol Matthews Deputy Secretary

The All Saints case The Union has referred a case concerning a small independent school, All Saints Grammar School, Belmore, to the Fair Work Commission. All Saints stood down eight teacher aides, two administrative staff and bus drivers on 31 March 2020, shortly before the school holidays. The employees were not paid from that date and did not receive pay for the school holidays nor the public holidays over Easter.

Stand down means an employee is not paid for an indefinite period. Under the Fair Work Act, if the employer is not covered by the recent JobKeeper amendments (and most schools aren’t), stand down can only occur in very narrow circumstances, as set out in the Act. These requirements are that: 1. there has been a stoppage of work 2. the stoppage is not for a reason for which the school is responsible (for example, a decision to reduce staff numbers in response to changing economic circumstances); and 3. the employee stood down cannot be usefully employed.

The case focused on the teacher aides and administrative staff.

The union lodged the stand down dispute with the Fair Work Commission on Friday 3 April, just a few days after the members concerned contacted us.

The matter was listed for conciliation on Monday 6 April and set down for hearing on Friday 17 April and Monday 20 April, during the school holidays. Both sides were represented by barristers in the proceedings, because the matter was seen as a test case.

The school lodged a statement by the school principal, who argued there was no work for the teacher aides nor the relevant administrative staff when the school was providing online learning.

The union strongly contested this, calling witness evidence about the types

outside the control of the school, such as a fire or flood or machinery breakdown.

The outcome Five days after the main hearing had concluded and just before school was due to go back for Term 2, the school changed its mind and decided to withdraw the stand downs. The employees will now receive back pay for the period of the stand downs and will have ongoing work.

Implications for other schools Even though the matter was resolved without a decision of the Fair Work Commission, it was clear in the proceedings that for a stand down to be

Five days after the main hearing had concluded and just before school was due to go back for Term 2, the school changed its mind and decided to withdraw the stand downs. The employees will now receive back pay for the period of the stand downs and will have ongoing work. of duties teacher aides were performing in other schools and that the teacher aides and administrative staff at All Saints could perform. We also argued that there was no stoppage of work (teaching and learning were continuing) and that the decision was taken by the school for economic reasons, to reduce costs, rather than being a stoppage caused by factors

effective the school must carefully consider whether other useful work is available for each employee. This is not an easy hurdle, nor is it clear that the Commission would have held that there had been a stoppage of work.

Our union is continuing to challenge stand downs in other states in the Fair Work Commission and will challenge

stand downs in other NSW independent schools on a case by case basis.

(Note, however, that separate rules apply to employees stood down under the JobKeeper allowance: see page 8.)

In NSW there have only been a small number of schools that have sought to stand down staff. In some cases only very specific classifications have been affected - such as boarding house staff, aquatic centre staff, sports coaches, etc. However, there are a number of independent schools, where stand downs have been more extensive. A number of these schools have provided ex gratia leave to staff who have been stood down.

Members in early learning centres have also been affected because of the very significant reduction in attendance experienced by centres.

Other reductions in hours Some schools have sought to reduce employees' hours rather than stand them down. Again, there are limited circumstances in which a school or early learning centre has the unilateral right to do this, particularly if the employer is not a JobKeeper employer. Members should immediately contact the union if they have been asked to agree to reduced hours and do not wish to agree.

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“An estimated energy bill saving in excess of $15,000 per year is predicted.”

IEU gets set for solar

Installation of solar panels has commenced on the heritage listed IEU headquarters, the Briscoe Building on Wattle Street in Ultimo. The IEU Executive commissioned this work in line with the union’s environment policy.

The IEU has been investigating the financial and environmental outcomes of solar power for Wattle Street, and the benefits became clear: with 54 per cent of the building’s energy requirements to be covered by solar power, an estimated energy bill saving in excess of $15,000 per year is predicted.

Along with a carbon abatement potential of 67,000 kilograms carbon dioxide annually, the decision presented itself unequivocally.

A pre-site inspection has occurred and work is to be complete by 30 June this year.

There will be 170 panels installed on the heritage building’s refurbished roof which will take advantage of as much surface space as possible.

The view from above the IEU Wattle Street building in Ultimo where the solar pannls are being fitted.

Early childhood: JobKeeper and keeping healthy Early childhood services have been declared an essential service, like schools, and therefore need to ensure they stay open during this time unless they have been closed by the Department of Health.

While many services have seen a big drop in the number of children attending, as children begin returning to classrooms in Term 2. No fees can be charged to parents at this time.

We believe that most early childhood services, including preschools, have applied for JobKeeper payments and other forms of COVID-19 funding available to preschools and long day care centres to support them at this time.

If you have not yet applied for JobKeeper or other emergency funding we would encourage you to approach your employer to do so as soon as possible. Preschools 6

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should also ensure that they apply for the funding announced just before the Term 1 break when it becomes available.

If your service is eligible for JobKeeper, staff will need to fill out and sign a JobKeeper nomination form. We encourage members to seek advice from the union before signing the form. During the period of JobKeeper payments, you will continue to accrue annual leave, personal leave and long service leave.

Any changes to your hours of work should be considered temporary.

Employers cannot stand you down or reduce your hours of work unless they have your consent or are receiving and passing on JobKeeper payments. The industrial instruments governing your employment do not allow this to happen.

Your employer should implement JobKeeper payments in a fair and equitable

manner across the service. There are no changes to the National Regulations, so services need to ensure that the appropriate qualified staff are present and that child/staff ratios are still being met.

Members are encouraged to discuss any proposed changes to their working conditions with their union organiser.

Have you developed a work, health and safety policy for COVID-19 at your service?

The union believes all services should implement a policy for the safety of both staff and children attending the service.

Things to consider in developing a policy include: • ensuring all children, staff and visitors who are ill are excluded and/or sent home if they display any signs of illness • instituting temperature checks at drop off and once during the day • organising smaller groupings of children

• ensuring staff are at least two metres apart at all times if possible and ensure there is sufficient space for children and staff.

• checking and ensuring staff, children and parents are vaccinated against influenza before attending • ensuring there is hand sanitiser available for staff and children and encourage frequent use and hand washing • ensuring parents use hand sanitiser before drop off and pick up • ensuring the centre is properly cleaned each day and toys are washed thoroughly.

Remember – an open service is only good to staff if it’s a safe service.

Verena Heron Senior Industrial Officer

PRESENTTENSE

COVID-19

cannot rob you of your rights The coronavirus crisis continues, and while the number of new cases in Australia appears to be decreasing, the fallout for the economy is just beginning. One of the worst affected industries looks likely to be the post-secondary college sector.

ELICOS colleges will be particularly hard hit. English colleges rely on a steady stream of international students to stay viable, and now that the borders have been temporarily closed to non-citizens, there probably won’t be any new students for quite a while.

This problem is exacerbated by the omission of any support from government for international students and, as lockdowns mean jobs in areas such as hospitality are drying up, students already in Australia often have no choice but to go home.

There is some better news for teachers and other staff, with the federal government’s JobKeeper wage subsidy hopefully allowing colleges to remain viable through the initial phase of the crisis. The union has sent information out to all members about how this works, and you should ask your employer what their plans are with it.

Teachers who have been terminated or stood down may be eligible for the increased unemployment benefit (badged as JobSeeker), worth $550 per week.

There have also been some changes to the Fair Work Act and to the award, allowing for variations in hours, for

annual leave to be taken at half pay, and for two weeks of additional unpaid leave for those in self isolation. If your employer approaches you to reduce your hours, you should try to get an undertaking (in writing) from them that you will revert to your previous arrangements in due course. The changes to the Act will expire in six months, so don’t sign away your rights forever.

“Some colleges are taking desperate measures in response to the pandemic, but members need to remember that their existing entitlements remain.”

Some colleges are taking desperate measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but members need to remember that their existing entitlements remain.

Some colleges have attempted to cut wages and other entitlements below the prevailing award rates, but this is not allowable under the law, and members can pursue any underpayments that might ensue.

Members at International House, for example, were

advised in early April that the college would unilaterally cut wages by 15 per cent, even for work already completed.

Members at the college organised immediately and, with the union’s backing, got the college to back down immediately. Pleasingly, the college is now attempting a more co-operative approach to cost cutting.

There has never been a more vital time to be part of your union, and you should be encouraging your colleagues to join the IEU: • over the phone 8202 8900 • via email membership@ieu.asn.au • online https://www.ieu.asn.au/join-page.

There are many benefits to IEU membership: https:// www.ieu.asn.au/member-benefits Union fees are tax deductible.

Until 22 May, the IEU is offering a six month fee exemption for casual, sessional and support staff members who are currently financial. Details have been emailed to all eligible members.

There has never been a better – or more important – time to join the IEU. Kendall Warren Organiser

ACT Islamic School teachers unanimously back industrial action Members of the IEUA NSW/ACT Branch in the Islamic School of Canberra recently won the right to take industrial action, as long running enterprise agreement negotiations continue to stall.

Bargaining is now underway and the IEU will move forward with strong support from members.

The IEU has been calling for school management to pay salaries and conditions in line with those received by teachers in other schools in the ACT and Islamic schools in NSW. The union has been in negotiations with the school board for a new enterprise agreement since 2016, after the previous agreement expired in 2013. The school was sold in 2018 by the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils to Islamic Practice and Dawah Circle Inc. Initial discussions with the new school management were cordial, but negotiations stalled at the end of 2019 when the employer applied to terminate the enterprise agreement. The IEU notified a dispute to the Fair Work Commission about the school’s failure to bargain in good faith and applied for a Protected Action Ballot Order on behalf of its members.

“Staff employed at the school are an extremely dedicated group of employees who have stuck it out for their students during a very difficult period,” IEU organiser Lyn Caton said. “The teachers have confirmed their concern and dissatisfaction by returning unanimous support for taking industrial action.”

IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Mark Northam said he has “nothing but praise for the members at the Islamic School of Canberra, who have collectively indicated their desire to achieve parity with like schools”.

“Members at this school have the full support of the union in their ongoing struggle to achieve fair wages and conditions,” Northam said. “Valuing teachers and support staff is a responsibility of all school employers. The IEU applauds the brave steps taken by teachers at the Islamic School of Canberra.”

“Staff employed at the school are an extremely dedicated group who have stuck it out for their students during a very difficult period.”

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JobKeeper and useful union resources

Changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 In order to allow for the implementation of the JobKeeper scheme, the government has chosen to make changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act). The government’s Coronavirus Economic Response Package inserts a number of entirely new provisions into the FW Act, the repeal of these provisions is automatically set to occur on 28 September 2020.

allows employers to reduce: the number of days on which a worker works; the number of hours worked on a given day; and/or the number of hours worked overall. A worker is not stood down whilst on a period of leave authorised by the employer or whilst otherwise authorised to be absent.

If your employer is participating in the JobKeeper scheme and reduces your hours to save jobs in the business, you must get paid either the JobKeeper payment of $1500 per fortnight before tax, or your ordinary pay for the hours you’ve worked, whichever is higher. You are not entitled to be paid for the hours you don’t work, but must be paid your usual rate of pay for any hours that you do work. You should continue to accrue annual leave based on your former hours.

If you have had your hours reduced by a JobKeeper eligible employer, you can ask your employer if you can perform a second job or undertake professional development or training while you’re not working. Your employer must consider this request and must not unreasonably refuse.

Employer obligations The new provisions mean an employer who qualifies for JobKeeper is entitled to a $1500 JobKeeper payment for eligible workers and must pay the employee an amount of at least $1500 per fortnight.

An employer is also required to pay the greater of the available amount of JobKeeper payment or the wages that would otherwise be payable for the work performed in the period.

Employer requests Employers who qualify for JobKeeper can make certain requests, which workers (for whom the employer is entitled to JobKeeper payments) must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse. These include requesting you agree to an alteration of the days and times that you work, or that you take annual leave.

Agreeing or not agreeing to an employer request is a workplace right.

JobKeeper enabling directions The new provisions allow employers who have qualified for JobKeeper to give what are known as 'JobKeeper enabling directions'. This means an employer participating in the JobKeeper scheme can direct you to perform different duties or change your location of work, including working from home, if this is reasonable and necessary to save jobs. You must be given three days’ notice in writing of any change (unless otherwise agreed) and your employer must consult with you or your union first.

Any valid directions given have effect despite any applicable terms in a Modern Award, enterprise agreement, or employment contract or transitional instrument.

Alterations to days and time of work An employer can request you agree to work on different days or at different times. If agreed to, it must not have the effect of reducing your number of hours of work (compared with your ordinary hours of work).

After strong campaigning for a wage subsidy by Australian unions, the Federal Government announced the JobKeeper scheme, having previously ruled out countenancing such a program. The ACTU have been providing regular updates, fact sheets and briefing notes on industrial issues affecting workers during COVID-19. Here is information regarding JobKeeper that has been sourced from ACTU documents, dated 8 April 2020. You can sign up for email updates from the ACTU ‘Coronavirus Workers’ Rights Resource Centre’ and Unions NSW ‘COVID-19 Worker updates newsletter’.

Alterations to duties Any duties you are directed to perform must be reasonably within the scope of your employer’s business operations, within your skill, qualifications and competency, and safe for you to perform. You must be paid your usual rate of pay, or the rate applicable for your new duties, whichever is higher.

Alterations to work location Where a direction is given in relation to work location, you must not be asked to travel an unreasonable distance and it must be safe and reasonably within the scope of your employer’s business operations for you to perform your duties from home. It must be safe to perform the directed duties, including with respect to COVID-19. Workplace health and safety laws continue to apply to working from home.

A new form of stand down The new provisions enable an employer to give a direction to an employee to be stood down if the employee cannot be usefully employed because of the COVID-19 pandemic or the government’s initiatives to slow the spread of COVID-19.

This stand down provision not only allows for a worker to be stood down completely, but also 8

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Annual leave Employers who qualify for JobKeeper can ask you to agree to take some annual leave, as long as you will not be left with a balance of less than two weeks. You must consider the request and can only refuse if you have reasonable grounds to do so. Contact your union if you are unsure whether you are allowed to say no.

You should be paid your annual leave at your usual rate of pay. You are able to agree with your employer to take twice the period of annual leave at half your rate of pay if you wish.

Enforcement If you think you have been treated unreasonably by your employer or have a good reason that you cannot comply with a directive (for example, caring responsibilities), you should contact your union for advice. Protections under workplace health and safety, anti-discrimination, and workers compensation laws continue to apply. Your union may be able to ask the Fair Work Commission to hear and decide a dispute about your pay, a change to your hours or days of work, or a request to access your annual leave and reverse the employer’s direction if it is unfair.

Links Unions NSW COVID-19 Workers Updates newsletter https://actionnetwork.org/forms/subscribe-toour-covid-19-newsletter ACTU Coronavirus Workers’ Rights Resource Centre https://www.actu.org.au/coronavirus

JobKeeper and your employer The IEU is aware of a number of schools asking members to sign the ATO form nominating themselves as an “eligible employee” for JobKeeper entitlements, that is, JobKeeper nomination form.

Members have rightly contacted the IEU, asking whether they should sign this form.

By signing a JobKeeper nomination form and agreeing to be nominated, an employee becomes included in recent provisions inserted into the Fair Work Act. These provisions are detailed in the article below.

If you are approached to sign a JobKeeper nomination form, please let your IEU organiser know so we can provide you with the appropriate advice.

As matters develop, and when the IEU is kept informed, IEU organisers will be attempting to contact the relevant schools and centres to determine eligibility and begin preliminary discussions as to whether the employer would be prepared to give or indicate an undertaking regarding stand downs, reduced hours, or any other changes to working arrangements and entitlements.

Unfortunately, not all employers choose to inform the IEU of their intention to apply for JobKeeper or enact other changes to their employees’ arrangements. Again, if you or your colleagues are asked to sign a JobKeeper nomination form, we strongly recommend you notify the IEU as soon as possible, so we can provide you with the best assistance and advice.

Facts about JobKeeper •

The JobKeeper allowance is a wage subsidy not a wage replacement. It will be made to the employer through the ATO from 1 May and is able to be backdated to 30 March 2020. Payments relating to April must be made to employees before the end of April – that is, before the employer has started receiving payment from the ATO.

• Most employers must show a 30% drop in revenue to be eligible. Most schools will not suffer that level of loss of revenue.

• The JobKeeper payment is a flat payment of $1500 per fortnight, regardless of your previous income; - If you normally earn less than $1500, you will get $1500 and the employer should not ask you to work more hours than you normally do.

- If you normally earn more than $1500 per fortnight, the JobKeeper - payment will make up the first $1500 of your fortnightly pay. That is, you should still get the same value for the hours that you work.

• Full-time and part time workers are entitled to receive this payment if they were employed as of 1 March 2020.

• If you are a casual employee, you must have been employed regularly and systematically for longer than 12 months by the same business to be eligible for the payment.

• Temporary Visa holders, except New Zealanders, are excluded from accessing the JobKeeper scheme.

• If you have been stood down since 1 March, you will be eligible for the JobKeeper payment.

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You must remain an employee of the business to receive this payment and may not receive more than one payment at a time – if you work at two different jobs you cannot receive JobKeeper payment from both employers and must nominate your ‘primary employer’ to receive the payment. You cannot receive both JobKeeper and JobSeeker.

• The JobKeeper payment is taxable income.

• Superannuation rules apply differently depending upon if you’re continuing to work or not: - Stood down without pay and receiving JobKeeper – you are paid - the JobKeeper wage subsidy of $1500 per fortnight and can speak to your employer about contributing some of this payment into your superannuation.

- Still working at the business – you are required to receive - superannuation paid on the salary you might otherwise have received, as normal.

• If you normally earn more than $1500 per fortnight – you are entitled to your original wage and superannuation payments on top of that wage.

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If you normally earn less than $1500 per fortnight – you are entitled to your original wage and superannuation payments based on that wage but should receive $1500 per fortnight as a minimum. The portion of that $1500 which is above that which you would normally have received for your work that fortnight will not attract additional superannuation payments, although you can speak to your employer about contributing some of the payment into your superannuation.

• If your employer qualifies for JobKeeper payments for you, they gain certain new powers under the Fair Work Act.

Testing positive: Principal shares school’s response to virus outbreak In early March, two students at St Patrick’s Marist College Dundas were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Principal Angela Hay tells us how the school managed it.

On Friday 6 March, Epping Boys High had to close when a Year 11 student tested positive for COVID-19. “We have close connections to Epping Boys,” St Patrick’s Marist College Principal Angela Hay said. The schools are just 15 minutes from each other. “As you can imagine, the rumours started flying around.” Over that weekend, Hay and her team were informed a parent of one of her school’s students had tested positive. There was also an unconfirmed report a second parent had fallen ill.

The school immediately contacted NSW Health and the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta (CEDP).

“In a pandemic, as we’re in, NSW Health has control of the situation,” Hay said. “NSW Health is in charge of quarantining, of self-isolation, of decisions around school closures and of all school communications.” The school was told to progress as normal.

But the situation changed rapidly. Early in the morning of Monday 9 March, Hay received information that one of her Year 10 students had tested positive for the virus. She immediately renewed contact with NSW Health and the diocese. Then a second student snapchatted that they had the virus. This took some verifying. “By about 7am, we had confirmation that two of our students had tested positive for COVID-19,” Hay said. By then, St Patrick’s Marist students were already on their way to school.

Emergency meeting The next move was to call an emergency meeting of the leadership team. Shortly after 7am, the Executive Director of CEDP, Greg Whitby, was on site, as was Mark Rix, Head of the Executive Office and Communications at CEDP. On the line was the Chief Executive of Catholic Schools NSW, Dallas McInerney, and two professors from NSW Health. The team mapped the way forward.

In anticipation of anxious phone calls from parents, the first step was working with support staff. The message was simple yet sobering: “Yes we have two cases of positive tests among our Year 10 students. We are working closely with NSW Health and waiting on their advice.”

Teachers take charge From the outset, Hay emphasises the input of her teachers and support staff. “My team did an amazing job,” she said. “My teachers put on a superhero cape and they are superheroes.

They are extraordinary people, they put in 120 per cent.”

The next step was a briefing with teachers, who were understandably anxious. The phrase of the moment was “close contact”. Who had been in close contact with the two students? What defined close contact? “Staff went back to their homerooms,” Hay said. “They were given a script about close contact and the students had to be named.” Teachers asked questions about music practices, sport, drama, who had sat next to who on the bus. But in no other communications were the students named.

Classes were cancelled and parents were asked to pick up their children. At this stage, all communications had to come through NSW Health, Hay said. It wasn’t a simple matter of a post on Facebook. “It was a letter sent out through Skoolbag and email,” Hay said.

The school’s phone began ringing hot with concerned parents: “My son is a close contact, does that mean my daughter is a close contact?” and “If my child is a close contact shouldn’t their best friend be too?” While the answers could only come from NSW Health, Hay was simultaneously grateful for parents providing much needed information and highly concerned that more people in the school community would test positive.

Cleaning and containment During the next two days, the school was cleaned forensically. “We had two teams come in to clean from top to bottom,” Hay said. “They cleaned everything you can

“My teachers put on a superhero cape and they are superheroes.

They are extraordinary people, they put in 120 per cent.”

think of – every musical instrument, every desktop, every computer, every laptop, every door handle. It took two cleaning companies to come in and clean the school.”

Then came the containment strategy and the vexed question of social distancing in a school environment.

When the school reopened on Thursday 12 March, Hay didn’t know how many people to expect.

“We had about 35 per cent of our staff out, and about 460 out of 1000 students turned up,” she said. “So we had the opportunity to spread students out. We had hygiene posters already up. And like many schools we have had frustrations. We had no hand sanitiser, we couldn’t get cleaning products. So I was relying on parents and my staff to bring their own, which is really difficult for me as a leader because my job is to protect my people. We did everything we possibly could.”

So on Monday 23 March, when the NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, gave schools the go ahead to encourage families to stay at home, “it really turned the corner for us”, Hay said.

“We put in some really high expectations.”

There were two teachers per classroom. Everyone had to stay at their own desks, and teachers no longer had access to a staffroom or lunchroom. All doors were kept open so no one needed to use door handles.

really helpful. But this would have been impossible to do with a full cohort of students in the school.”

The team’s strategies worked. “We’ve had no more known cases of COVID-19,” Hay said.

The school’s practices were of paramount importance throughout this time. “We have a policy and process for everything,” Hay said. “The key policy was our emergency plan, along with our communications and privacy plans, which every school has in place.

“Our plan clearly outlines infectious diseases and shutdowns. However, we didn’t have pandemic specifically included, nor did we have a remote learning policy. These are both there now.”

Successful strategies Protecting staff was of great importance to Hay. “We had teachers who were concerned,” she said. “They have children, they had to make the very difficult decision about whether they were going to stay home and take carer’s leave.

“So I offered them the opportunity to use their own classroom and bring their children in when they needed to. Some of the staff have taken that up, and that’s been

Monica Crouch Journalist

Nothing but praise Hay says the school community is weathering the coronavirus crisis well. Even though we’re apart, she says, connection at the school has never been stronger. “The collaboration between our staff has been extraordinary – the innovation, the willingness to try new ideas, that’s been absolutely fantastic,” Hay said.

“I’ve talked a lot about the teachers, but my whole staff and my support staff, they’ve been on the frontline, they’ve been phenomenal.”

Members can watch the full interview at: theieuzone.org.au Completing "Interview regarding Covid-19: A Principal’s story" will contribute one hour of NESA Registered PD addressing 4.4.2; 7.4.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS Stay up to date with the latest news - www.ieu.asn.au

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Working from home For working from home Working from home for extended periods is likely to be a significant change and challenge for many teachers and support staff. This may be especially the case for teachers who have only recently entered the profession.

The following tips are intended to provide you with some practical suggestions as to how to cope with the remote working environment and some industrial advice as to how you might best manage your workload during these demanding times.

The space and you Try and ensure you have a designated workspace.

Take the time to set up your workspace safely (Australian Government ‘Working Safely’ guide https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/covid-19information-workplaces/working-home).

Establish a set routine for commencing and ending your working day e.g. some people suggest leaving the house for a short walk or coffee and ‘arrive’ at work at a set time.

Continue to present and dress yourself in a professional manner.

If you can, try standing or walking while talking throughout the day – consider buying a high quality Bluetooth headset and mic (keep the receipt for tax purposes).

Taking breaks Your industrial instrument still applies when you are working from home - you are entitled to take a break.

Follow your usual school timetable or set a timetable and stick to it.

Use an alarm to ensure you take regular breaks from your computer and the sitting position.

Avoid sitting in front of a yet another screen such as a television during a break – get outside if appropriate and stretch.

Accountability Teachers remain responsible for managing their own professional planning time (PPT/non-teaching time) in the remote working environment.

There is no requirement to provide evidence of work being done which adds to your current work load. As with working in the physical environment, if your supervising teacher maintains manageable and clear lines of communication you should avoid any unforeseen issues arising.

Stay off social media during work hours unless it is work related. Be conscious that many platforms identify you when you are online.

Not all PPT needs to consist of you writing programs. Watching online tutorials etc to upskill yourself is valid.

Ensure you maintain child safety protocols at all times. The union recommends you follow any employer instructions regarding documenting the start and finish of each working day. Typically this would be an email or text.

Keep a detailed diary of your home office expenses – this will be useful come tax time!

Remember, you set the boundaries for acceptable levels of communication from students and parents. If in doubt, refer to your school email/ social media policy, or contact your union organiser.

It’s your profession – own it Now, more than ever, it is time for teachers across Australia to be given the professional courtesy and respect they deserve to make decisions which best suit the educational needs of the students in their care. Support staff must be recognised for the extended and invaluable role they play in assisting the delivery of education to students.

If you believe you are not being properly consulted with respect to the amount or the nature of work you are being asked to undertake you should contact your union organiser 8202 8900.

Dealing with Centrelink way harder than the classroom?

Welfare Rights Centre and IEU are joining forces to support members trying to access JobSeeker and other social security payments as a result of the COVID19 crisis.

We know that some teachers and support staff have had their or their partner’s working lives disrupted, so we want to make sure you all know that the government has loosened restrictions around who can claim unemployment benefits through Centrelink.

People receiving JobSeeker payment will not be required to look for new work, assets will not be taken into account, and there is a far more generous partner income test. That means that under the temporary rules, your partner’s income will not reduce your JobSeeker payment until their earnings reach $994/ 10

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fortnight, and your payment will not cut out altogether until your partner earns $3,068.80 per fortnight.

Dealing with Centrelink can be exhausting. There is a lot of paperwork to be submitted, queues and wait times are long, and the reasons for Centrelink decisions are not always clear. If you’re having trouble getting your Centrelink claim accepted, or you’ve have had a claim rejected, please get in touch with Welfare Rights Centre for free legal advice. Welfare Rights Centre’s lawyers are experts in social security law and will offer advice or assistance on any social security matter.

Remember, appealing a Centrelink decision is often straightforward, and appeals are often successful. Call Welfare Rights Centre on 1800 226 028.

for teachers and support staff Am I entitled to work remotely?

Staff who are medically vulnerable or those with caring responsibilities for a person who is medically vulnerable should be allowed to work from home according to the national health recommendations for schools. You may be required to provide evidence of the medical condition if your employer is not already aware of it. In most cases, other staff will be permitted to work from home on a roster basis, although this may change if student attendance at school increases in Term 2.

Will I be paid for working remotely?

If you continue to carry out your work or similar/alternative duties at the direction of your employer, you are entitled to be paid.

What if I get sick while I am working remotely?

As is normally the case, if you are sick there is no requirement for you to work. You will be paid your normal sick leave provided you follow the usual school notice and evidentiary requirements.

The IEU recommends you confirm with your school what evidence requirements are appropriate as we assume employers would not wish to unnecessarily burden the medical system.

Am I covered by workers compensation when working from home/externally?

You are covered by normal workers compensation provisions provided you are actively engaged in employer directed duties.

Who will pay for my internet usage/hotspot data?

All teachers are advised to keep accurate records of data usage and payment plans in the event of there being a future claim from your employer.

Teachers are also reminded there will be tax deduction implications for home office work.

Should a substitute teacher be engaged to replace me if I am sick?

It is the expectation of the union that the usual process of engaging casual teaching staff will continue, however, it is not entirely clear how schools will be able to respond to this situation. This may depend on the availability of casual staff and how feasible it is for casual teachers to have access to the school’s Learning Management System (LMS). The expectation from the union is that no member should be required to accept any additional workload due to the staff absences. All relevant Industrial Instruments continue to apply with respect to class sizes and teaching hours.

Do I have to provide work for students when I have some at school and some working from home?

Teachers should expect to contend with only one mode of instruction, face to face or online, and staffing arrangements at the local level should be organised so as to facilitate this. This may involve collapsing classes and/or forming multi-year instructional groups in primary, especially in the face to face context.

Include teachers and education unions in decision-making “If the nation is to navigate a successful return to reopened schooling, it is imperative that teachers and their unions are given a seat at the decision-making table.”

While chaos has surrounded the start of Term 2, what’s needed is security, certainty – and much greater consultaion with teachers, writes IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Mark Northam.

The stop start approach to the closing of schools and now the sudden rush to reopen has been one of the most confusing and chaotic aspects of the COVID-19 crisis, exacerbated by a consistent disregard for the professional voice of teachers.

Many of the issues that emerged in recent months could have been averted if politicians had taken the profession, and the teachers’ unions, into their confidence during the early stages of the crisis.

Instead, confusing health advice and conflicting education decisions, made against the backdrop of what appear to have been economic imperatives, has created unnecessary anxiety for staff, students and parents, and frustrated efforts in maintaining effective education experiences.

If the nation is to navigate a successful return to reopened schooling, it is imperative that teachers and their unions are given a seat at the decision-making table.

As has become evident to many Australians in recent weeks, teaching is a complex process and teachers and support staff grapple with complex decisions every day.

Concerns about Year 12 As a simple example, prioritising Year 12 in the first wave of returns would appear an obvious move to most people,

yet even this single issue illustrates the complexities of getting these decisions right.

It also ignores the well-documented health concerns for school staff. While the advice has been consistent in stating that children are a low health risk, our Year 12 students are not children. These are young men and women who have part time jobs and are paying taxes. Many are old enough to vote.

Asking teachers to return to a situation where they are once again required to teach students both face to face and remotely is unreasonable and entirely unnecessary given they had only just managed to implement a viable remote learning process.

All this is predicated on accepting the premise that Year 12 should be prioritised. Yet this decision is far from given and is merely one among the daunting catalogue of complex decisions schools face in the coming weeks.

How do we balance the competing needs of children with learning difficulties against the children of essential workers? How do we prioritise the rostering arrangements of families with multiple children at home compared with those years or cohorts whose educational needs are time critical? How do we convince thousands of kids it’s OK to sit in a crowded classroom but not to participate in their local sporting clubs? How do we keep asking teachers to accept it’s OK to spend the day with 25 kindergarten students, yet prohibit them from seeing their grandchildren?

Meanwhile, as the recent decision by Hunter Valley Grammar School to implement a full return from the start of

Term 2 shows, Catholic and independent school employers are picking and choosing which directives they will follow, either state or federal – leaving staff, students and parents to make the necessary adjustments.

If the past few months has shown us anything, it is that schools have become much more important to our society than people ever imagined. Not only have schools emerged as central to maintaining social order and cohesion, it is also quite clear they are critical to the economy.

Teachers and support staff step up A few short weeks ago, schooling in Australia was turned on its head. Advice was changing from day to day and decisions were being made that profoundly affected peoples’ lives, yet rarely were the education professionals asked their opinion. Invariably they were the last to hear.

But through it all, teachers and support staff in our schools, the majority of them union members, stepped up and are now keeping the show rolling.

Now it is time for politicians and social commentators to step aside and let the profession set the course. Teachers have been sidelined for too long. The professionals charged with getting education back on the road must be given both the resources and the professional trust to get the job done.

What the union requests of your employer On 22 April 2020, the IEU wrote to the Association of Independent Schools and the Diocesan Directors of Catholic Systemic Schools urging safety and certainty for members as Term 2 commences. The union is seeking a consistent approach to the operation of schools throughout the state. Key points in the union’s requests to employers include: • unwell staff and students must remain at home • signage should remind staff and students about COVID-19 protocols around coughing, sneezing, hand washing, shaking hands and physical distancing • hand sanitiser to be provided at the entry to and in classrooms and work spaces

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soap to be provided and regularly topped up in all toilets contactless thermometers to be available on site vulnerable students and students whose parents are essential workers are to be accommodated at school at all times if determined by the school, a graduated return of students no earlier than Week 3 – not on a roster basis of one day per week; return should preferably by year group; for example, senior students in secondary schools and kindergarten in primary schools a teacher is to deliver via only one format at a time (either online or face to face – not both) on site classes to be split to ensure physical distancing is maintained.

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For example, a teacher/student ratio would not exceed 1:10 and classroom dimensions should be checked to ensure the number of students complies with 1.5 metre physical distancing spacing windows should be open to promote airflow where possible. physical distancing is to be maintained in staff rooms and office areas – including by permitting staff to work from home physical distancing needs to be maintained during movement of students around the school (for example, through narrow corridors) during supervision of lunch and recess, physical distancing needs to be maintained wherever possible in the playground and around the

canteen – breaks should be staggered where possible • cleaners to clean surfaces during breaks • medically vulnerable staff and staff who have a medically vulnerable person in their household should be permitted to work from home • distances need to be maintained at school gates during pick up and drop off • existing staffing should be maintained; the hours of cleaning staff should be increased; casual staff should be employed as required; teachers who are on leave should be replaced by casual teachers.

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Labour bites

Exchange in the time of online education

#NoWorkerLeftBehind Australian trade unionists and community activists have been organising car convoys and other coordinated actions to protest the Morrison government’s decision to leave up to 2.2 million workers out of the COVID-19 emergency JobKeeper scheme. Key priorities of the protesters include the immediate expansion of JobKeeper to cover casuals, gig workers, migrant workers, refugees, international students and many others who have been sacked or had their hours and pay cut during this crisis. In addition, they are calling for every worker to have the right to a secure residence and tenancy, access to Medicare and social security regardless of nationality or visa status, and the nationalisation of essential services in place of bailouts with no strings attached.

Australian press freedom in peril The News Corp journalist whose house was raided by the Australian Federal Police last year, Annika Smethurst, has achieved a “small victory” in her legal battle contesting the validity of the raid.

The High Court unanimously ruled the warrant was invalid but was split on whether police should be forced to hand back or destroy the seized documents. The raid was in response to a story Smethurst wrote on plans to expand the powers of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), seeking the ability to surveil Australian citizens living in Australia. The AFP’s warrant to raid the house was found invalid on a technicality, failing to specify the offence being investigated. This has prompted the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) to issue the warning that “The warrant has been quashed on a technicality but the powers that enabled the raid remain. Starkly read, this means here is no protection for public interest journalism in Australia.” The MEAA continues to call for the government to adopt Australia’s Right to Know coalition’s reform agenda for positive protection for public interest journalism and whistle blowers.

#SickPayForAll The peak body for trade unions in the United Kingdom, the Trades Union Congress (TUC), is leading calls to resolve the inequality of sick pay.

Previously, there had been for many workers a three day wait to access sick pay, and the TUC has successfully lobbied the government to remove this temporarily. But the TUC says this doesn’t go far enough. At just £94.25 ($A185) a week, statutory sick pay in the UK isn’t enough to live on – and 2 million people don’t earn enough to qualify.

The TUC is calling on the government to introduce emergency legislation that: gives every worker the right to statutory sick pay from the first day of absence; scraps the minimum earnings threshold for statutory sick pay; ensures sick pay is paid to workers who have to self isolate; increases the weekly level of sick pay; provides funds to ensure employers can afford to pay sick pay; and provides additional support to those who miss out.

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Off to Canada When I was a child, my family moved to Tokyo for two years for my dad’s work. They were happy, adventurous years, and it was always my dream to provide such an experience for my own children. For 2020 my family decided to go on a teacher exchange to Canada – we wanted a challenge, an adventure, some togetherness. And so far we have had it all – but in a different way to what we had imagined!

We flew out of Sydney in December 31 with eight large suitcases, two ski bags and three children, ready for the adventure of a lifetime. I didn’t need to start my job teaching science in Barrie, Ontario, until the end of January, so we made the most of the time we had to ‘ski Colorado’ on the way.

We flew into Canada in time for a snowstorm. Our home for the year is like a dream – nestled in the snow, backing onto a golf course, a short walk to a ski mountain. Every day I look out the window and am astounded by the beauty of this place.

COVID-19. We headed off for a ski holiday in Quebec, only to find the mountain closed the day before our arrival. We quickly changed our plans to include a wildlife park (Parc Omega, where we saw wolves), snowmobiling and dogsledding. Then we headed back home to begin self-isolation.

When school resumed, it was by distance learning only.

The first step was to make contact with all my students and determine what level of access they had to technology. The standard 6.5 hours of instruction to each of my classes per week was reduced to three via distance learning. This was to minimise time in front a computer, and to accommodate families who needed to share technology. Where students do not have access to technology, teachers prepare paperbased resources and the school distributes them to the students.

I don’t have video meet-ups with students (for child protection reasons), and students can pace themselves for the week. I have cut out some of the curriculum content, and am balancing giving students enough to sink their teeth into but not overwhelm them. We are no longer giving grades, but I review their work and give students feedback of “got it” or “not yet”.

My students are using a range of online resources that we couldn’t use in the classroom, giving them a choice of how they learn the content. They submit work via online quizzes, Google slides and making videos. I have been impressed with their standard of work.

Almost all of my academic students have embraced this different kind of classroom; but there has been a mixed response (and in some cases, no response) from my applied/locally developed students, although I have been pleasantly surprised by many of them.

Nonie Taylor, a science teacher from Barker College, Hornsby, is in Canada on exchange. It was a long way to go to stay home, she writes, but there are still plenty of positives.

Starting school At Bear Creek Secondary School in Barrie I was welcomed and quickly made to feel at home. My students come from a diverse range of socioeconomic backgrounds and have a huge range of abilities. The curriculum is structured so that from as early as Grade 9 (when high school starts), science is split into three levels: academic; applied; and locally developed. Students only do science for one semester, but teachers see them twice as often in that time as they would in NSW. This semester I have two Grade 9 Academic classes (the curriculum is very similar to Year 9 in NSW), and a split class which is a mixture of Grade 9 applied and locally developed.

Students don’t have technology in school like they do back home. They don’t bring laptops to school, and many don’t have them at home. It was a challenge to switch back to paper-based resources, but also fantastic to see the stronger focus of many of the students when technology was removed.

My applied/locally developed class has a range of needs I was not experienced with, such as varying literacy levels.

I essentially needed to teach two different versions of the curriculum to the class. But I have enjoyed the flexibility to focus on the areas of more interest to these students, rather than being required to push through the entire academic curriculum. In our chemistry topic, for example, we explored the science behind salting roads and how it affects road safety, and what is rust and the impact of salt and water on vehicles.

Online learning One day before the one-week March break, the Ontario government announced that students would have an additional two weeks off school to reduce the spread of

Family life We got to enjoy the snow and skiing before the mountains shut down due to the virus – our children skied after school until 8-9 pm every night. We’ve explored mountain bike trails, and now that the snow is melting we can still be active while maintaining distance from others.

We have wonderful, supportive neighbours and we feel safe and cared for.

We are in a good place to isolate, and in some ways it is easier for us – we expected to be challenged this year, to be separated from our friends and family, to have more ‘togetherness’. COVID-19 has made it possible for us to be more connected with home – our friends and family are around and available to talk, we can ‘attend’ our church at home, and our kids get up at 4.30 am to go to youth group with their friends back home.

We are hoping that by the time summer rolls around, a little more of Canada will have opened up and we can see some more of what this beautiful country has to offer.

Either way, this year is one we will never forget, and we are so glad we did it.

Fresh off the wire … Australian educators’ perspectives on children, digital technology, health and learning

Key facts • 43% of Australian teachers and principals believe digital technologies enhance their teaching and learning activities., while 84% believe digital technologies are a growing distraction in the learning environment.

• 60% of teachers believe technology has positively impacted the learning experience for students with disabilities.

• 59% of respondents observed a decline in students’ overall readiness to learn in the last 3–5 years.

•

•

78% of teachers say students’ ability to focus on educational tasks has declined.

83% of teachers agree that students’ socio-economic circumstances have some impact on access to technology they need for learning in school.

More information • Find the full Growing Up Digital Australia Phase 1 Technical Report: www.gie.unsw. edu.au/growing-digital-australia-phase-1results-how-screen-based-technologiesare-impacting-school-students • See June edition of IE magazine for interview with Professor Robyn Ewing.

If you’re a

teacher

it pays to learn what you can claim at tax time To claim a deduction for workrelated expenses

■■ you

must have spent the money yourself and weren’t reimbursed ■■ it must be directly related to earning your income ■■ you must have a record to prove it.*

You can only claim the work-related part of expenses. You can’t claim a deduction for any part of the expense that relates to personal use.

* You can use the ATO app myDeductions tool to keep track of your expenses and receipts throughout the year.

Self-education expenses You can claim a deduction for self-education expenses if your course relates directly to your current job – eg a course in working with children with special needs.

You can’t claim a deduction if your study is only related in a general way or is designed to help you get a new job, eg you can’t claim the cost of study to enable you to move from being a teacher’s aid to being a teacher.

Car expenses You can claim a deduction when you: ■■ drive

between separate jobs on the same day – eg travelling from your job as a teacher to a second job as a musician

■■ drive

to and from an alternate workplace for the same employer on the same day – eg driving from your school to another school to moderate exam results.

You generally can’t claim the cost of trips between home and work, even if you live a long way from your usual workplace or have to work outside normal business hours – eg parent-teacher interviews.

There are limited circumstances where you can claim the cost of trips between home and work, such as where you carry bulky tools or equipment for work – eg a set of sporting equipment needed for a carnival. The cost of these trips is deductible only if: ■■ your

employer requires you to transport the equipment for work

■■ the

Home office expenses You can claim a percentage of the running costs of your home office if you have to work from home, including depreciation of office equipment, work-related phone calls and internet access charges, and electricity for heating, cooling and lighting costs.

If you are required to purchase equipment for your work and it costs more than $300, you can claim a deduction for this cost spread over a number of years (depreciation).

You generally can’t claim the cost of rates, mortgage interest, rent and insurance.

Other common deductible work-related expenses

equipment was essential to earning your income

■■ there

was no secure area to store the equipment at the work location, and

■■ the

equipment is bulky – at least 20kg or cumbersome to transport.

If you claim car expenses, you need to keep a logbook to determine the work-related percentage, or be able to demonstrate to the ATO a reasonable calculation if you use the cents per kilometre method to claim.

Clothing expenses

As long as the expense relates to your employment, you can claim a deduction for the work-related portion of the cost of: ■■ phone

and internet usage

■■ excursions, ■■ first

school trips and camps

aid courses

■■ seminars

and conferences

■■ protective

equipment such as sunglasses, sunhats and

■■ teaching

aids

■■ technical

or professional publications

■■ union

and professional association fees.

You can’t claim a deduction for the cost of: You can claim a deduction for the cost of buying, hiring, mending or cleaning certain uniforms that are unique and distinctive to your job, or protective clothing that your employer requires you to wear.

You can’t claim a deduction for the cost of buying or cleaning plain clothing worn at work, even if your employer tells you to wear it, and even if you only wear it for work – eg sports clothing.

■■ gifts

you purchased for students

■■ meeting

students’ personal expenses – for example, paying for lunch, excursions or school books.

12:34 PM

Carrier

100%

Add expense

SNAP!!

SAVE STORE

SNAP! SAVE! STORE Cost

$45.00 Date

10/04/2018 Description

Travel expenses

Is this partly a private cost?

Yes

No

What can you claim on your tax return?

100%

OR

$0.00

Car

Other car expenses

NAT 75029-05.2018 C127-00003h

The Gonski Institute for Education at UNSW Sydney has released the first in a series of Growing Up Digital Australia reports, with initial research painting a worrying picture of changed learning conditions in Australian schools. Well before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Australia, children’s significant access to digital technology and its impacts on learning and wellbeing had become a major concern for educators.

The first research phase found nine out of ten teachers and principals in Australia have observed an increased number of students with emotional, social and behavioural challenges in school today compared to just five years ago. Three out of five Australian educators have seen a decline in students’ readiness to learn and two-thirds have observed more children arriving at school tired.

Now, with more than 85 per cent of children across Australia being taught remotely at home, with a heavy emphasis on learning using media and digital technology, this research takes on an extra dimension. Children have entered a period of even greater exposure to screen-based technologies where no one can be sure what impact, both positive and negative, this will have.

This first research phase of Growing Up Digital Australia will form crucial benchmark data as we start to understand what the COVID-19 world and the post COVID-19 world will look like for children. The study also suggests there are some serious concerns regarding access and equity when teaching and learning move to rely more on available technologies in schools and homes.

“What is happening with our kids now is the biggest educational experiment in history,” says Professor Pasi Sahlberg, the report’s co-author, Professor of Educational Policy and Deputy Director of the Gonski Institute for Education. “As adults, we have much to learn about their habits, and the benefits and pitfalls of screen-based technologies for them. Growing Up Digital Australia sets out to do just that.

“Based on our research, it is clear the problems facing young people today are complex. Simply banning devices in schools or homes will not help students navigate the digital minefield.”

The Institute has partnered with Harvard Medical School, the University of Alberta and Alberta Teachers Association on the international digital technology, learning and health research project Growing Up Digital in Australia. The project has the potential to be the world’s largest study of technology, learning and health impacts on K–12 students.

The study’s Phase 1 findings were drawn from 1876 responses to a survey of teachers, principals and school support staff in all sectors (government, Catholic and independent) from preschool to Year 12 which ran from September to the end of the school year in 2019.

This is a general summary only.

For more information, go to ato.gov.au/occupations newsmonth - Vol 40 #3 2020

13

The Australian Taxation Office has introduced a simplified method for claiming deductions for anyone working from home as a result of COVID-19.

Between 1 March and 30 June 2020, taxpayers will be able to claim 80 cents per work hour for all their additional running expenses, rather than calculating costs for specific running items. This new method is designed to make tax returns simpler for those who have needed to work from home due to COVID-19.

The ATO has provided information specifically responding to the evolving nature of COVID-19 and the new temporary way of working that many schools and organisations have had to adopt.

For details: www.ato.gov.au/ general/covid-19/support-forindividuals-and-employees/ employees-working-from-home/

doing all in its power to protect members’ jobs and working hours, as well as safeguarding against stand downs and layoffs. Our union is open for business, so contact us about any employment concerns you might have.

The IEU has made an important announcement regarding fee exemptions for casual teaching and casual school support staff, who are financial members and have been adversely affected by the current crisis. These members can apply for a six-month exemption from their union fees. Please apply as soon as possible.

On behalf of support staff members, I would like to thank the IEU for working so diligently to support members throughout this extraordinary and constantly evolving time.

One of my gravest concerns is for the millions of refugees throughout the world. If life was dire for them before the coronavirus, it is even more so now. Please consider sponsoring organisations such as Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA. Just do what you can.

Please take care. Don’t take chances. Follow social distancing. Stay at home. Stay safe.

At this very difficult time of COVID-19, principals and staff are at the forefront of dealing with unprecedented changes in our ways of working and living, including the transition to remote teaching and learning, while also supporting students and parents who may be facing considerable disruptions in their lives.

At the IEU, the health and safety of our members, their employment security and their working conditions, are the union’s key priorities. We especially recognise the challenges principals face as they seek to deal with the expectations of their employers while also supporting their staff, students and families.

Regular updates on COVID-19 issues and their implications are on the IEU website and Facebook page. All principal members were emailed recently with some resource materials in relation to online teaching and learning and also about possible alternative tasks for support staff at this time: Working remotely – IEU FAQs for We recognise teachers, comprises 23 questions and the challenges answers about issues associated with the transition to new modes of teaching principals face and learning. as they seek to Suggested duties for non-teaching support staff, offers suggestions to deal with the ensure continuity of employment during expectations of the online/remote working period. their employers On behalf of the union I’d like to thank Parramatta Diocese Principal while supporting Angela Hay for her contribution to a staff, students recent IEU online forum. Her school, and families.

St Patrick’s Marist College at Dundas, was the first NSW Catholic school to be directly affected by COVID-19 and temporarily closed. The online forum, which welcomed about 250 participants, was registered with NESA for maintenance of accreditation.

In the midst of COVID-19 issues, the IEU will also seek to progress enterprise agreements and work practices agreements negotiations for principals, teachers and general employees; we’ll support workplace health and safety; continue online professional development programs; and assist members collectively and individually.

The IEU’s Term 2 Principals Sub Branch meeting is scheduled for Saturday 2 May at 10am, but within the current context this meeting will be held via Zoom. Details will be provided in due course.

On behalf of the IEU, I’d like to thank principal members for their strength, resilience, creativity and compassion at this challenging time. The union is always pleased to be of support; principals are welcome to contact us if there is anything they would like to clarify or discuss.

Carolyn Collins Vice President Support Staff

Pam Smith Assistant Secretary, Principals’ Organiser

Taxing times:

What to claim if you work from home

Union works hard to protect support staff Australia has faced unprecedented droughts, fires, floods, dust, hail and now a pandemic.

Our tolerance, patience and resilience are certainly being challenged.

The IEU would like to acknowledge and thank all teachers and school support staff for the extraordinary amount of work they have done for our students, as we move into the new hybrid education arrangement called remote learning.

We have witnessed how all education staff have come together in sharing knowledge, resources and expertise. This not only applies to teaching staff, but to support staff officers, who may not have a teaching degree but have a wealth of knowledge, expertise and experience.

As staff move through this crisis, we need time and resources to do our work effectively. There are no excuses for our employers to deny us online training. This is a time for professional development, and especially for school support staff. A comprehensive list of suggested duties for non teaching staff has been posted on the IEU website and social media.

It is not 'business as usual' and won’t be for some time, but with resilience and solidarity we will move forward, teaching and nurturing our students and caring for our school communities. The IEU is

Principals face the challenges

New movement sweeping the globe While the mass media is quick to share stories of toilet paper hoarding and other unpleasantness related to COVID-19, Facebook and Instagram are awash with examples of people going above and beyond to help their fellow human beings through these challenging times. Dubbed caremongering, this new movement has quickly gained momentum around the world.

What is caremongering?

In response to the scaremongering taking place due to the coronavirus pandemic, caremongering was created to encourage people to connect with each other in a positive way. The idea is to help spread the opposite of fear, driving a sense of community and helping those who are more vulnerable.

People from many different backgrounds are joining these online groups to help others within their community, particularly those more at risk from coronavirus. Popular activities include: • going to the supermarket to pick up groceries • posting mail • walking dogs for those who can’t leave the house • running urgent errands • taking the time for a phone call with a lonely neighbour.

Over last few months, there has been an explosion of caremongering groups online, including The Kindness 14

newsmonth - www.ieu.asn.au

Pandemic (Facebook), which has almost 600,000 members at the time of writing. While some groups boast members from many different countries, others are more community focused, only accepting members from the same neighbourhood.

Ripples in a pond As well as people seeking or offering help, these groups give members a chance to share acts of goodwill as an uplifting reminder that it’s not all doom and gloom out there. The #thankapostie hashtag is trending worldwide, with people leaving artistic messages for their posties. In various communities, people are leaving teddy bears in the front windows of their houses so local children can participate in a game of I-spy as they walk around the neighbourhood.

And the recent 'clap-for-health-professionals' saw thousands sharing clips of themselves standing on balconies to show their appreciation for the brave men and women on the frontline in the fight against COVID-19.

Big (hearted) business Many businesses, some of whom are impacted by social distancing measures, are not only finding ways to stay afloat, but also striving to make a difference in their communities, from small cafes delivering meals to vulnerable people to supermarket chains setting aside the first hour of trading especially for the elderly. Banks are getting in on the action too, with most financial institutions

offering relief to help their members keep their head above water until this crisis has passed.

Want to get involved?

At Teachers Mutual Bank we understand the importance of community. In these uncertain times, we encourage our members to come together and support one another.

If you would like to join the global caremongering movement, here are three ways to get started: We’re all going through the same thing, so please be kind to others.

Where you are comfortable to do so, and it is safe for you and others, we encourage you to make sure that any vulnerable or isolated members of your neighbourhood are okay during these difficult times.

Join an online, community based group, which is a great way to share information and stay connected with others.

Learn more about our COVID-19 response at www.tmbank.com.au/coronavirus and stay up-to-date with all the latest government health information at www.health. gov.au and your state or territory equivalents.

IEU Beginner Reps Training in February, with Organiser Marilyn Jervis – prior to COVID-19 social distancing.

Right: Branch Secretary Mark Northam met with members at Lumen Christi Pambula in early March.

Below: Members snapped

by Organiser Berna Simpson, social distancing at St Joseph’s Grenfell.

Above: Branch Secretary Mark Northam speaks to Network7 in April about education and COVID-19.

Left: Union representatives attend the ACTU and South Coast Labour Council Bushfire Fundraiser at Merimbula in early March. From left to right is IEU member Lyn Ronen, IEU Organiser Valerie Jones, IEU Organiser and South Coast Labour Council President Tina Smith, ACTU President Michele O’Neil, IEU organiser Berna Simpson and IEU Branch Secretary Mark Northam. newsmonth - Vol 40 #3 2020

15

A little respect Online learning. Remote learning. and in most cases their families as well. eLearning. We’ve been doing it all.

As the systems catches up to the And then some. situation and the teachers (who are The very quick transition to students powering along) we need to be wary of coming to school then staying at home over-administration and the adding of for school may have pulled teachers up expectations on an already overloaded short initially – but not for long. teaching group.

The delay in coming to an agreement Just because we are working from over the work practices agreement and home (mostly) does not mean we are the award is disappointing to say the not working. It means we are being extra least. Cancelled diligent, often meetings, The enormous change in having to prepare inconsistent without learning and teaching in lessons messaging from resources that the past few months has we would have the Catholic Commission for proved beyond a doubt that at school, and Employment extra teachers are worth every devoting Relations, and time following improvement in working up with students. uncertainty from various directors And all this while conditions and pay. has stalled managing our the conclusion of the agreement. own children at home doing their home Negotiations have all but ceased. schooling. We do not need the system This means that the pay rise too has expecting a daily (and in some cases, been delayed. The enormous change hourly) check in on teachers. in learning and teaching in the past few There has been some public comment months has proved beyond a doubt that about teachers being valuable, enabling teachers are worth every improvement the economy to keep moving. It is a in working conditions and pay. move towards respecting teachers as This pandemic and its social professionals. Hopefully it will grow. consequences have shown teachers If we are so valuable and a credit can adjust to the diverse learning needs to our profession, then it is time for of their students and the context in our employers to step up and finalise which they work without too much of our agreement and treat staff with the a hiccup. Teachers and their support respect you purport to hold for us. staff competently and efficiently took on new and at times very different learning Bernadette Baker VP Systemic Report frameworks to support their students

Keep connected and carry on In my last column I applauded the work and vision of independent schools in supporting teachers, support workers and families during the terrible drought and bush fires. But little did I know that 2020 really would become the ‘Annus Horribilis’ that it has. COVID-19 has changed everything: our careers, our lives, and our relationships with others may never be the same again.

The school where I work went into remote learning mode quite early. There was the necessary round of technical training, both soft and hardware updates and upgrades, programs, thinking ahead and asking “how on earth do I set up a home office?”. We were all asking, “How long will it be for?” and thinking “I’m not sure I can do this”.

But you know what? We did do it and we will probably keep doing it for some time to come. Why? Because we care for our students and their families, for our colleagues and, importantly, for our profession.

Many independent schools will be rolling out remote learning platforms in some form or another. Here are a few things to keep in mind as we grapple with this brave new world of remote teaching and learning: be prepared; limit your screen time; exercise regularly; eat and sleep well; do things that need doing (especially if

you are in lockdown or isolation – my wife and I are painting some of the house and the garden is getting a bit of a makeover); undertake some personal development (I’m brushing up on my Italian), read for pleasure and spend time with your loved ones (albeit via phone, screen or yelling from afar).

Collegially we need to find creative ways to connect with others. Regular email, phone and social media contact should be part of your practice and planning. Write a letter (how novel!) to your colleagues telling them about your remote learning adventures, or send a photograph. Do all you can to keep connected – that’s the key to surviving the current crisis.

As professionals we must keep the learning going, we must maintain the standard and we must keep our jobs.

Teaching and teaching support will always be about the relationships we build with our students and their families. We may not be able to see them but they need to know we’re there and that we care. There will be tough times ahead for all of us but with patience and perseverance we will all get there in the end.

A big shout out to everyone in the independent education sector – stay well, stay safe, be happy.

Bruce Paine Vice President Non Systemic

Giveaways

Respect My Father’s Shadow

By Jannali Jones WINNER – 2015 black&write!

Indigenous Writing Fellowship Kaya is completing her Higher School Certificate when she is woken in the middle of the night by her mother. They are to pack immediately and go to their holiday home in the Blue Mountains. Her father is ‘not coming back’. He has been involved in a court case to give evidence against some dangerous criminals.

Her best friend, Jenna, has gone overseas and Kaya is trying to make sense of what is really happening. Jannali Jones has crafted a thrilling story which stays on the edge right to the end.

By Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson Our Way is old.

Older than the red earth.

Older than flickering stars.

Our way is respect.

A tender, thoughtful story reminding us to respect others and respect ourselves.

Part of the Our Place series which welcomes children to culture.

“Dream team Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson, who previously brought us the excellent Nganga: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander words and phrases, have collaborated with artist Lisa Kennedy to deliver this absolutely exquisite picture book. In Respect, the first book in Magabala’s Our Place series – the aim of which is to welcome children to Aboriginal culture Muir and Lawson’s sparse text is offset by Kennedy’s luminous images, which come alive on the page.’’ – Hannah Gardiner, Books+Publishing

The Daredevil’s guide to outer space

By Anna Brett Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Blast off!

Having survived some of the scariest destinations on Earth in The Daredevil’s Guide to Dangerous Places, Eddie and Junko are off on another epic adventure – this time to outer space.

Join our intergalactic explorers as they travel across our Solar System and beyond.

Find out what it’s like to live on the Moon, visit the International Space Station and fly through Saturn’s rings, before you head deeper into space to escape black holes and watch stars explode.

With real-life photos, out-there illustrations, incredible facts and mindblowing space stats, this book is an aweinspiring introduction to the Universe.

Email entries to giveaways@ieu.asn.au with the giveaway you are entering in the subject line and your name, membership number and address in the body of the email. All entries to be received by 1 June 2020.

16

newsmonth - www.ieu.asn.au

This is my world

By Lonely Planet kids If you were asked to tell someone on the other side of the world about yourself, where would you start?

Perhaps you’d mention your favourite hobbies, the pranks you play on your family, or what you want to be when you grow up. Would you include a selfie or a family photo? A cute snap of your puppy or that awesome shot of you playing your favourite sport?

Discover what it’s like to live in an orphanage in Zambezi, by a remote fjord in Greenland, on a cattle ranch in Australia, high up in the Himalaya mountains in Nepal, at an eco-lodge in Costa Rica, and much more.

Explore the union’s COVID-19 resource hub The IEU has been working around the clock to keep our members informed of all the latest developments in the rapidly shifting COVID-19 landscape. In addition to providing breaking news, regular updates and timely advice on our Facebook and Twitter pages we have created a COVID-19 resource and advice hub on our website.

There you can find sector specific advice (early childhood, primary, secondary, support staff, colleges), news releases, ACTU and Unions NSW factsheets, video updates, links to global health advice, mental health resources, FAQ and advice documents developed specifically by the IEU for members, and other COVID-19 related information.

Don’t miss the “Working from home FAQs” document for teachers and support staff, of which you can find a berief excerpt

on pages 10 of this edition of Newsmonth.

We have also created a list of “Suggested alternative duties for non teaching staff” that might be allocated to teacher aides, specialist teachers, and other support staff to ensure continuity of employment during the online/remote working period.

These are suggestions only, and there may well be other contextual needs for your school.

We are constantly updating this hub with the latest information, so be sure to check in with us regularly. If you have specific concerns or require advice about your work situation, we encourage you to contact your union organiser via phone or email.

Find the hub by clicking the yellow button on the front page of our website, or go directly to ieu.asn.au/covid-19-adviceand-information

We are constantly updating this hub with the latest information, so be sure to check in with us regularly.

We raised our voice and made it heard Towards the end of last term, the IEU launched an online campaign Time and Trust: Remote Learning Now! where we demanded clear and immediate action from government and education employers to put in place emergency schooling measures for reduced student attendance.

This campaign was supplementary to the advocacy the IEU was already conducting on behalf of our members, representing your interests to state and federal leaders and education ministers, as well as school employer representatives.

The IEU was proud to receive more than 5000 signatories to our petition in just a few days – a public endorsement of our demands for rights and respect for all school and education workers.

The union noted the decision made by the 11 Catholic dioceses of NSW and the ACT to implement staff development days in the final week of Term 1, a response, albeit late, that was broadly in line with the union’s demand to provide teachers and support staff with adequate time to prepare for a new hybrid learning environment.

Schools are still exploring ways to

ensure sites remain safe for the staff and small numbers of students who continue to attend if their parents are essential workers (including emergency services and health care workers) or who may be vulnerable in domestic situations.

In these periods of seismic transition, there is no shortage of work to be done.

Teachers and support staff must be supported to work together to ensure the best outcomes for their students and school communities.

As the situation develops, we expect schools to adopt a compassionate approach at a local community level to ensure no vulnerable students are turned away.

In this time, it is critically important for schools to keep fulfilling their work, health and safety obligations and provide a safe and hygienic work environment for staff and students.

Schools delivering online education are not shut, and an open school must be a safe school.

The IEU thanks all of our members, and everyone who supported our campaign, for their solidarity – we can confidently say it means the world to our members as we navigate these uncertain times together.

The IEU was proud to receive more than 5000 signatories to our petition in just a few days.

Social media insights As we compiled this column of members’ comments we thought it important to acknowledge the explosive growth of engagement and communication over the past weeks and months.

We have welcomed a meteoric increase in followers, comments and engagement with our pages. Since the COVID-19 crisis began, our Facebook page has seen a more than 400 per cent increase in “reach” (the number of people who have seen our posts), and page views have increased by an astonishing 1500 per cent.

Our website has seen similarly increased traffic, with an increase in visitors of about 400 per cent compared with this time last year.

This growth in online engagement is commensurate with the influx of new members we have welcomed to our ranks in the same timeframe.

Yet it is with decidedly mixed feelings that we report these statistics. While we are proud to welcome and engage with our members both new and existing, we know these numbers are driven by the prevailing and overwhelming sense of anxiety and uncertainty the coronavirus has brought with it.

Like never before, the union presence online has been crucial in providing regular updates, information, advice and support. Of this, we are proud. But what inspires even greater pride among our team has been witnessing our pages come alive as community hubs for our members – where you have shared stories, expressed concerns, and extended solidarity to your colleagues.

Here’s a selection of just a few of the hundreds of impassioned, heartwrenching, and supportive messages our members have been sharing with us and each other, loosely grouped into themes.

Respect J.L: I don’t just want respect – I want hand sanitiser, cleaning supplies, enough space to distance – and one job, not online AND at-school teaching.

Pamela: I am SO angry with how Scott Morrison has been speaking about teachers and school staff – how dare he be so denigrating to such hardworking people.

Michele: I cried when I heard Scott Morrison refer to me as a glorified childminder. It is a very scary and stressful time to say the least. Please keep me, my family, my colleagues and students in your prayers.

Lala: How dare the PM lay a guilt trip on teachers and on national telly. He has never shown the least bit of interest in our profession before! Leave it to those who know how and to our unions!

Angela: Teachers have never wavered in their commitment to delivering education, even under very trying circumstances.

Early childhood teachers Marnie: Thank you for advocating on our behalf.

The importance of Early Childhood Education and the incredible challenge this current crisis has been placing on parents and the need to pay fees to keep our preschools operating and staff in the workforce. We appreciate your efforts and support.

Jennifer: I am a student member of this union and a part time ECT [early childhood teacher]. Due to this slashing of our funding and the fact that I am ineligible for JobKeeper payments as I am not yet a permanent resident, I would logically be stood down. I have nothing to fall back on as Australia will not help me and I cannot safely return home.

Kylie: Struggling to understand how it is ok for early childhood educators to perform their jobs safely when they are talking about maintaining social distancing in schools.

Casual teachers Leoni: Casuals are such an important part of the school communities. I’m not a casual teacher but my heart goes out to all of you who are. I love casual teachers!

Michelle: I wrote to the PM about this. My mental health is suffering big time. Us casuals have definitely been handed the short end of the stick.

Rachel: I feel very sorry for all the casual teachers who now have no work and the permanent teachers expected to do double the work. Teachers already are incredibly dedicated people and always work above and beyond.

Lesley: As a casual teacher with no financial support offered by the government, I will no doubt be forced to teach at schools where it is absolutely impossible to practise social distancing. The whole situation is quite ridiculous.

Online learning and workload Sash: I have frozen. The enormity of the task at hand is overwhelming. I just want to curl up in a little ball and resurface when it’s all over.

Kerry: Don’t feel guilty. You obviously needed to take time out. Sleep, chill and regenerate. You will be able to face the music and think much clearer after you have rested. Enjoy your much deserved break.

Mandy: As teachers, we try so hard to reinvent the wheel. We have just learnt about distance/remote education, and now we are probably expected to do face to face teaching as WELL as remote learning.

Tania: The government needs to be made aware that remote learning and partial class rosters don’t just happen automatically. There is a huge amount of work and planning involved by schools then parents need notice to be able to plan around this for their work.

Angus Hoy Journalist facebook.com/ieunswact

twitter.com/#!/IEUNSWACT

newsmonth - Vol 40 #3 2020

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Letter to the editor

WITHDRAW O T T O N R O WITHDRAW I recall some time ago speaking to the Assistant Minister for Superannuation who advised that the most common request and complaint was from members who wanted to withdraw money from their super to pay for things such as mortgages, school fees and credit card debt. It is easy to understand why a family or individual struggling under debt would make such a request. But the Assistant Minister’s view was clear: super is for retirement purposes only and if we start allowing access to super for various other reasons we defeat the purpose of it.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its massive economic ramifications, the Federal Government has put in place measures to allow individuals affected by the pandemic to access up to $10,000 in the current financial year (before 1 July 2020) and another $10,000 from 1 July 2020 to 24 September 2020.

People will not need to include these payments in their income tax return and will pay no further tax on the payments. To access early release payments, you need to meet one or more of the following requirements: • you are unemployed • you are eligible to receive a JobSeeker payment, youth allowance for jobseekers, parenting payment, special benefit or farm household allowance

Your financial situation will determine whether you wish to access this scheme and it is always prudent to obtain financial advice from a licensed financial planner. The Australian Taxation Office warns of various scams that are popping up offering to assist in making withdrawals for a fee. The ATO also advises not to provide your personal information if you are contacted and not to click on any links.

“A national emergency is no time for an attack on retirement savings,” wrote former Prime Minister Paul Keating in the Sydney Morning Herald on 13 April 2020.

Keating refutes a proposal to suspend the current 9.5 per cent compulsory super contributions during the pandemic.

“Many people do not know, or understand, that individual member superannuation contributions represent but 20 per cent only of an accumulation at retirement,” Keating said. “That the other 80 per cent comes from compound earning in the fund.”

Industry Super Australia has provided some useful modelling to help you see how any present withdrawals will affect your account balance at retirement: industrysuper.com/super-to-help/accessingyour-super-now/ “We are all in this together” has become the new mantra during these difficult times and NGS Super is here to assist you. Information regarding the pandemic, investments during this period and how to access early withdrawal of super is available at www.ngssuper.com.au We extend our best wishes to you and your family – stay well, stay safe, we are here to help.

A national emergency is no time for an attack on retirement savings, wrote Paul Keating in the SMH.

On or after 1 January 2020, either • you were made redundant • your working hours were reduced by 20 per cent or more • for sole traders, your business was suspended or there was a reduction in your turnover of 20 per cent or more.

Bernard O’Connor NGS Super Company Secretary/Manager Insurance and Complaints

(Important information: The information in this article is general information only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making a financial decision, please assess the appropriateness of the information to your individual circumstances, read the Product Disclosure Statement for any product you may be thinking of acquiring and consider seeking personal advice. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Any opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS Super.)

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newsmonth - www.ieu.asn.au

On Wednesday 15 April, I listened in as the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, contradicted the reality in schools in most states. Despite his statement, parents need to know and understand that NSW schools have never closed because of the COVID-19 crisis and will remain open for those students who need to be at school.

In the past four weeks, I have seen teachers almost instantly flip their learning programs (which they had been creating and adding to for months) into a well-designed, informed, flexible system for students to engage with in the safety of their homes. Politicians have continued to shift goals and changed rules about how, and if, schools should remain open.

Teachers adapted and moved quickly, without political direction or resourcing or extra funding.

The change has been challenging for many teachers, assisting countless families to help their children with varying and specific learning needs, and trying to support often vulnerable co-workers.

We get it: it is hard for parents and carers with children at home, trying to negotiate work, if they are lucky enough that work still exists for them.

Teachers are experiencing those exact same challenges. And considering more than a third of teachers are over the age of 50, the concerns are real.

To then hear Scott Morrison state that teachers need to consider student learning and welfare, when that is something teachers have always done and will continue to do, is as insulting as it is indicative of the disconnect between the teaching profession and those who make decisions to govern it.

To position education as the lynchpin that could make or break the economy pits teachers against families. We must not let this go unchallenged. This is a marketing ploy and typical political gaslighting.

When you hear the Prime Minister tell you students are simply “looking at the internet” when at home, do not believe him. When he says learning is at risk if students remain home, remember that after the last earthquake in Christchurch in New Zealand, schools remained closed for a whole term, and students’ results improved in that time. When you hear the leader of our nation state workers need to use protective wear and establish stringent protocols because of the very real risk of infection, but this somehow doesn’t apply in classes of 30 students and schools of 300 (and more) students, understand that this advice is politics, not medicine.

The decision to open or close schools is out of teachers’ hands. It is a political decision.

When the leader of our nation refers to remote learning as disadvantaging poorer families, it has nothing to do with schools, and more to do with governments ensuring the poor remain so, while ensuring an imbalanced funding to different school sectors.

If ever it has been made clear what our government has created in terms of wealth for our country, this is it: the pandemic has made worse domestic and family violence; it has shown us the digital divide that schools have been crying out to government about for years; and it has put a spotlight on the many cultural and socioeconomic divisions the past 10 years of federal governance has made worse.

There is no simple “return to normal” – whatever that was to begin with. Perhaps Scott Morrison may need to ask Education Minister Dan Tehan to consider to what exactly he expects teachers to return.

Simon Goss Teacher Letters to the Editor email ieu@ieu.asn.au

IEU VicTas successfully opposes stand downs In mid-April the IEU VicTas Branch challenged stand downs in three independent Victorian schools. Two of these matters have now been resolved, and the third has been listed for arbitration at the Fair Work Commission in early May. General Secretary Deb James said: “We know that this is a difficult time for non government education, and that every school will face challenges. We don’t want to get bogged down in unnecessary disputation and have encouraged all employers to consult with us around any staffing or employment issues. As in government and Catholic schools, the majority of independent schools are doing the right thing by staff and students – but unfortunately it seems that a handful of high-fee schools are seeking to balance their books at the expense of their most vulnerable employees rather than dipping in to their own significant financial buffers.”

At Ballarat Clarendon College the union negotiated an outcome acceptable to IEU members based at the King Island campus. These members had been informed that they would be stood down without pay and that their accommodation arrangements would be maintained for only two weeks. Following conciliation at the Fair Work Commission and further direct negotiations, the college has agreed to continue to provide accommodation and will seek to provide them with meaningful paid work.

In conciliation at the Fair Work Commission on 17 April, Haileybury College committed to consulting with the union around their proposed stand downs. As a result of this very productive consultation, the school agreed that the proposed stand downs of over 30 music teachers would not proceed and announced to staff on

Monday afternoon that these teachers will continue their paid employment.

Ivanhoe Grammar appears at this stage to be determined to push ahead with stand downs of a significant number of non teaching staff. The IEU believes that these stand downs are unjustifiable and unlawful. We are deeply concerned that this well resourced school is attempting to pass the costs of the adjustment to remote learning on to lower-paid and more vulnerable employees who clearly have other legitimate work that they could be undertaking. This matter looks set to proceed to arbitration in early May. “The positive outcomes at Haileybury and Ballarat Clarendon College demonstrate that with proper consultation, schools are able to treat hard working staff with decency and respect during this difficult time. We congratulate Haileybury for their preparedness to reconsider their decision and agree to an outcome that is clearly to the benefit of students, staff and the whole school community,” said General Secretary Deb James.

“We commend Ballarat Clarendon College for committing to the wellbeing of staff on King Island who had been deeply concerned that they would be left without stable accommodation until normal schooling resumes. We will continue to oppose the unfair stand down proposals at Ivanhoe Grammar. We know that this school can afford to treat staff better than this. The vast majority of schools are doing the right thing by their staff, and we again call on Ivanhoe Grammar to do so as well.”

James continued: “We call on all employers in non government schools to consult with us and with their staff and not rush into any decisions which unreasonably disadvantage staff.”

IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Executive Secretary Mark Northam (pictured left) Deputy Secretary Carol Matthews (pictured right) Assistant Secretary Liam Griffiths (pictured second right) Assistant Secretary Pam Smith (pictured second left) President Christine Wilkinson St Joseph's Girls High School East Gosford Vice President Non Systemic Bruce Paine Kinross Wolaroi School Orange Vice President Systemic Bernadette Baker St Mary’s Cathedral College Sydney Vice President ECS Gabrielle Connell Ross Circuit Preschool Lavington Vice President Support Staff Carolyn Collins St Michael’s Primary School Nowra Vice President ACT Angela McDonald St Thomas Aquinas Primary School Charnwood

Financial Officers Denise McHugh NESA Consultant Tamworth Peter Moore De La Salle College Cronulla General Executive Members John O’Neill Carroll College Broulee Anna Luedi St Mary’s Catholic Primary School North Sydney Suzanne Penson Mackillop College Port Macquarie Tina Ruello Catherine McAuley Westmead Helen Templeton Presbyterian Ladies College Armidale Phoebe Craddock-Lovett Marist College North Shore Amy Mead St Augustine’s Primary School Narromine Simon Goss Holy Spirit Primary School Lavington Libby Lockwood St Joseph’s Primary School West Tamworth

2020 Professional Development Thursday 21 May PIP Behaviour Management – Getting it Right ONLINE Monday 25 May PIP Behaviour Management – Keeping it Right ONLINE Wednesday 10 June PIP Behaviour Management – Making it Right ONLINE Wednesday 17 June PIP Behaviour Management – Upholding the Right ONLINE See www.ieu.asn.au for updates and further information 2020 Reps Training Due to COVID-19, all these training events will be conducted via Zoom.

Friday 15 May Sydney Friday 22 May Albury Friday 29 May Canberra See www.ieu.asn.au for updates and further information

with Professional Development and Reps Training

www.ieu.asn.au Our locations The union welcomes two new organisers, Jeff Pratt and Sue McKay, see the story in the next Newsmonth.

Sydney 485-501 Wattle Street, Ultimo NSW 2007 (02) 8202 8900 Parramatta Level 2, 18-20 Ross Street, Parramatta NSW 2150 (02) 8202 8900 Newcastle 8-14 Telford Street, Newcastle East NSW 2302 (02) 4926 9400 Lismore Unit 4 Professional Centre 103-105 Moleswort Street, Lismore NSW 2480 (02) 6623 4700 ACT Unit 8, 40 Brisbane Avenue, Barton ACT 2600 (02) 6120 1500 newsmonth - Vol 40 #3 2020

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KEEP IN CONTACT WITH YOUR UNION: @ieunswact

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You’ll soon receive a survey from your union - let us know if your workplace is failing to comply with hygiene and work, health and safety guidelines.

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You are no doubt worried about the health and wellbeing of your family, friends and the wider community, and the impact of stock market volatility on super.

SUPER IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

The current global environment is an unsettling one, to say the least...

We understand that in times like these it’s more important than ever to be able to access the information you need. That’s why we’ve created a dedicated web page to help you stay up to date with your super, which includes: ▪ regular updates from our Chief Investment Officer and CEO ▪ information about insurance and COVID-19 ▪ details about the government’s early release of super provision.

ngssuper.com.au 1300 133 177 Issued by NGS Super Pty Limited ABN 46 003 491 487 AFSL No 233 154 the trustee of NGS Super ABN 73 549 180 515

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Visit ngssuper.com.au/covid-19. And to find out more about how we can help you make informed choices in uncertain times, please call 1300 133 177 or visit ngssuper.com.au/crm