Newsmonth August 2014

The newspaper of the NSW Independent Education Union and the NSW/ACT branch of the IEUA (vol 34 #4) August 2014

Print Post: 225007/0002 – ISSN: 0728-4845

Download the new IEU publications app p2

Students with disabilities Preservice and early career teachers thriving p6, 8, 11 campaign p6

Sending a strong message

Keeping the pressure on More than 600 IEU members gathered at Wickham Park near Newcastle on 26 June to protest the dismantling of their hard-fought for pay and conditions, as proposed by Catholic employers.

The protest outside the Diocese office sent a strong message to employers that members weren’t prepared to see their salaries and conditions stripped back.

Further rallies were due to take place in Wollongong on 17 July, and around the

State, including Sydney, Parramatta and Broken Bay, on 22-23 July.

The orderly but determined group marched from the park to the MaitlandNewcastle Diocese HQ, where a petition of 600 names was handed to Diocesan Director Ray Collins, calling for the Director of Schools to intervene in the dispute with the Catholic Commission for Employment Relations.

Concurrently, about 60 members gathered at Taree Leagues Club to make

their feelings heard. Both events received coverage on regional television news broadcasts, and were extensively reported in radio and newspapers.

Hunter Valley members called on colleagues in other diocese to keep up the pressure.

IEU General Secretary John Quessy told the crowd the employers' proposed enterprise agreement was “disrespectful and insulting” and he had been “stunned’ to discover it included the dismantling of

parental leave conditions.

“How can they be moving us to modern times when they are returning us to an era of grace and favour,” he said.

St Francis Xavier Teacher Michael Kerby said CCER Director Tony Farley told the media the IEU’s industrial action was “1970s”.

“Winding back our workplace conditions by 40 years – it’s blatantly obvious who is producing a 1970s response,” Michael said.

More 3Rs coverage page 2, 3, 4 & 12

www.ieu.asn.au on the ground

What the Catholic employers are saying Gloria Taylor Deputy Secretary

More than three months ago the Catholic Commission for Employment Relations (CCER) delivered a proposed Enterprise Agreement on behalf of Catholic diocesan employers to the IEU and posted the EA on the CCER’s Foundations for Excellence website.

The proposed document was designed to apply to virtually all staff in NSW/ACT diocesan schools. IEU members in Catholic schools were shocked and insulted by a proposal that would significantly reduce the wages and conditions of support staff, demolish teacher workload agreements and conditions and abolish senior promotions positions in schools.

Just prior to this Newsmonth going to press, the Catholic employers conceded that they were prepared to return to the ‘status quo’ as a starting point for negotiations for both teachers and support staff. They strongly urged the Union to call off scheduled industrial action on this basis.

The IEU was unprepared to take this action when there was nothing in writing and at best the proposal simply turns the clock back to November last year when the Union submitted our claim.

Also despite the CCER’s shift in position, they maintained during negotiations commitment to elements of the proposals, particularly around workload flexibility.

During media commentary on Wednesday 16 July, CCER Executive Director Tony Farley accused the Union of scaremongering and misleading our members. At the same time he maintained that current industrial arrangements are way out of date. He continued to foreshadow the need for significant change in schools in the current climate.

The IEU reminds members of the employers’ position to date: Support staff structure The proposed EA reduces salaries of support staff through a new approach to classifications based on the federal modern award definitions. The proposal is based on a ‘one size fits all structure that would capture most staff working in schools and substantially reduce pay rates and conditions of support staff.

A return to the current agreement structure would rectify many of these issues, but the Union will continue to seek improved salaries for school staff whose salaries have largely reflected the modern award.

Teacher classifications The employers indicated on 15 July that they would either return to the ‘status quo’ or consider a standards model reflecting the new award that applies to teachers in NSW government schools.

As they stated publicly on l6 July that current structures are unsuited to modern

times, we do not believe that we are close to an outcome on the standards issue and implications for teachers and school leaders in the longer term.

The Union also has restated our claim for accreditation support for teachers and policies around related issues including annual review processes.

Workload agreements and conditions There appears to be some progress in restoring workload agreements, but the employers are still eager to discuss flexibility to allow for ‘local decision making’.

The IEU will continue to bargain for a fair outcome for our members in Catholic systemic schools. The Union believes that strong member action has begun to have a positive impact on negotiations and we urge you to continue to support this vital Union campaign.

No agreement yet in independent schools Carol Matthews Assistant Secretary

The Union is currently negotiating with the Association of Independent Schools (AIS) for new agreements to apply in about 200 independent schools in NSW and the ACT, to replace agreements that expire in October this year. Notwithstanding misinformation circulating in independent schools, the Union has not “consented” to any new agreements to apply in independent schools.

In any event, only employees can make enterprise agreements by voting to approve them.

Although some progress has been made, the Union is not recommending a “yes” vote at this stage for the reasons set out below.

Pay increases for teachers The original pay offer by the Association of Independent Schools was for a threeyear agreement containing increases in base salary of only 2.5% in 2017. In compensation, teachers would receive one-off payments (OOPs) of a total of 4% in four 1% payments spread over 2015 and 2016. OOPs do not contribute to ongoing salary so at the end of the agreement, salary rates would only be 2.5% above rates at commencement and no increase in base salary would apply for the first two years.

The Union has rejected this proposal but advised the AIS we would be prepared to reluctantly recommend to members a two-year agreement with OOPs payments of 2% in 2015 and pay increases of 2% in March 2016, subject to certain conditions.

The Union has advised the AIS we would only recommend this pay rise to members if the following matters were also agreed.

The Union has insisted that 20 existing over-agreement ‘side deals’ be retained, with new rates of pay satisfactory to members. The Union has also stated that if proposed national increases in superannuation do not proceed, the projected increase should instead be paid

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as salary. The Union also seeks urgent advice about which schools are intending to move from the Steps Agreement to a Standards Agreement - our consent to any such move would be subject to satisfactory transitional arrangements.

A slightly different offer has been made for ACT teachers (involving an additional 2% pay rise and a reduction in sick leave) that the Union will need to discuss with members in the ACT. NSW support and operational staff The original AIS proposal for support and operational staff was for increases of 2% in 2015, 2% in 2016 and 2.5% in 2017.

The AIS has now changed this proposal to 2% from March in 2015 and 2% from June in 2016 and a two-year agreement. The Union has rejected these payment dates and is seeking earlier payment dates from February each year, implicit in the original offer and line with usual practice. The Union has also tabled a number of specific issues concerning support staff, including conditions and pay-related issues, with the AIS that we would like to resolve.

Pay rises for support staff are not yet agreed.

Teacher conditions The Union made a comprehensive claim for improved conditions. The AIS has agreed to the following improvements and no reduction in other conditions: • an agreement clause requiring schools to provide support for teachers undergoing accreditation at Proficient Teacher level • an agreement clause permitting teachers to apply to take long service leave in short blocks of one week or more (to be granted at the discretion of the employer).

The Union will discuss these issues further with members at school level.

A final word The Union has not yet received a response from the AIS about the outstanding matters.

In the meantime we are advising members to please contact the Union to arrange for an Organiser to visit your school to hear a more detailed report on the negotiations.

www.ieu.asn.au on the ground

Unprecedented support for industrial action “From all these obstacles, the voices of teachers and support staff have risen up in a chorus that will not be silenced.”

John Quessy General Secretary

Since Catholic employers first proposed their insulting and disrespectful EA plan in the dying days of Term 1 IEU members have been united in their condemnation of its content and the nature of the proposition.

When asked by the Union to support that condemnation with action some 85% of eligible schools elected to be included in the first cycles of Protected Action Ballots.

Those ballots are now complete with around 78% of the participating chapters supporting Protected Action in numbers strong enough for protests and work stoppages to commence.

In Australia the process of engaging in any form of ‘legal’ industrial action is long, convoluted, cumbersome and awkward.

The process is designed to fail and it is not cynical to claim that the right to strike in the country has effectively been removed (see page 5).

Not withstanding the obstacles put in the way by legislation, by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), by employer interference and incompetence and by

the remarkable vagaries of Australia Post particularly in regional areas, the will of thousands of union members offended by their employers’ affront will now be done.

For any form of industrial action to be ‘protected’ it requires a formal vote of union members in a plebiscite conducted by the AEC. To be a successful ballot 50% of eligible voters must participate and a majority must support the question asked in the ballot.

Industrial action is defined in this country by the incredibly broad “performance of work by an employee in a manner different from that in which it is customarily performed”. Therefore the simple process of wearing a protest button, collectively wearing a designated colour as a sign of remonstration or

More unis agree to higher prac pay

Mark Northam Assistant Secretary The IEU has now reached agreement (captured in a Memorandum of Understanding) with the Australian Catholic University, Notre Dame University, Southern Cross University and the University of NSW. These universities will negotiate an enhanced rate for implementation in 2015.

The IEU addressed various Deans of Education at a Southern Cross University conference recently, reiterating our position that the rate had to be enhanced, that a standard rate is needed across NSW and that discussions are needed to develop the practicum, in terms of Great Teaching Inspired Learning initiatives, as well as what the profession requires.

Demands on NSW schools to absorb 20,000 prac placements per year are generating problems. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 8 July that 44,000 qualified teachers were unable to secure a permanent job in NSW schools. A new taxonomy to manage the practicum is required.

The space the IEU seeks to be part of is the provision of BoSTES accredited hours for supervisors of practicum; streamlining claiming of allowances and the delivery of professional development to IEU members which is flexible, accessible and time effective. In particular, short courses which can accumulate into a

meaningful testamur are being sought.

Earlier this month the Union met with representatives from another eight universities to progress the agenda and ensure that recompense (in a broad sense) reflects what members believe is reasonable.

The profession prides itself on engaging with universities, but common understandings and entitlements will enhance the practicum and further promote goodwill between schools and initial teacher education providers.

Members are asked to assist in the finalisation of this campaign by: • indicating to universities who seek placements that members have an expectation that negotiations will take place with the IEU, and • referring to the IEU website for details of universities who have signed a memorandum of understanding prior to accepting placements for the remainder of this year, next year and beyond.

Positive discussions have commenced with: Charles Sturt University Macquarie University University of New England University of Technology, Sydney University of Western Sydney University of Wollongong University of Newcastle Updates to these discussions will be posted on the IEU website

solidarity or merely speaking out publicly from the workplace to its community now requires the permission of colleagues in a ballot at which the majority show up to vote and must support the premise.

It is a curious democracy where voting is optional but a 50% participation rate is required for the result to count. In both the USA and the UK voting is not compulsory yet no minimum turnout is needed for a Government to be formed and to claim legitimacy. Such are the special rules that apply to trade unions in Australia.

From all these obstacles however, the voices of teachers and support staff have risen up in a chorus that will not be silenced. Never before have our members been so engaged in a campaign or have claimed a campaign as their own. When

asked to read the employers’ EA proposal and to voice their questions and concerns our members have not been shy to do so.

And they are outraged at the mocking and jingoistic answers provided by the CCER. Members in the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese stopped work and assembled to voice their protest on 26 June, members in Wollongong on 17 July and the remainder of NSW will be heard in coming weeks.

Our message to employers is very clear: Recognise our increasing workloads, Respect our rights and professional commitment and Reward us with the conditions and resources to do our jobs responsibly.

Recipe leaves members with a bad taste The ingredients of the Catholic systemic employers’ proposed agreement have been deemed unpalatable by IEU members statewide.

Its attacks on support staff pay and conditions and the elimination of workload provisions and promotions positions in response to AITSL demands have been roundly rejected.

The reliance on AITSL to frame an industrial agreement is a cause of major disquiet. The reasons for this are known to the profession.

In 2013, one Catholic systemic school employee was granted Highly Accomplished status and one granted Lead status.

While seeking higher levels provided for under the auspices of the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards (BoSTES) is laudable, the reality is that an evolutionary approach to a government legislated change is required.

Seeking to unnecessarily impose an industrial instrument based exclusively around standards developed by AITSL will not progress matters. Standards based pay scales for teachers are but one dimension of the industrial agreements designed to enhance teaching and learning.

An expectation that significant development to existing practice will be instantaneous does not reflect the reality of the workplace. Agreed supportive structures and accompanying training will be vital prior to the implementation of a standardsbased pay scale. Negotiated transitional arrangements are the way forward.

The Highly Accomplished Teacher procedures are rigorous and demanding.

While accepting that more teachers will seek higher levels of accreditation, the notion that ‘broad distributive leadership’ will emerge as a phenomenon in this decade is without basis.

HSC marker negotiations progress The IEU (as part of a joint agreement with the NSW Teachers Federation) is in the final stages of submitting to the NSW Industrial Relations Commission details of the Higher School Certificate Marking and Related Casual Employees Rates of Pay and Condition Award 2014.

The agreement provides for 0.5% per annum above the NSW Government’s imposed salary cap. This has been achieved by cost savings associated with on-screen marking. In 2014, the IEU and BoSTES agreed that on-screen marking will comprise not less than 55% of all corporate and external marking of HSC papers and questions, progressing to not less than 62% in 2015 and not less than 70% in 2016.

Meal breaks will remain at one hour – between the hours of: • 12.30-2.00pm – Monday to Friday • 6.00-7.30pm – Monday to Friday • 12.30 – 2.00pm – Saturday The above arrangements can be altered by 30 minutes to facilitate a later start or earlier finish if agreed to by vote by a majority of markers at the initial briefing.

The IEU will publish the full award inclusive of pay rates and allowances on the IEU website once final agreement with BoSTES is reached.

newsmonth - Vol 34 #4 2014

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www.ieu.asn.au on the ground

3Rs action from around the State

Teachers and support staff from around NSW and the ACT have been quick to show their support for the IEU 3Rs campaign, attending rallies, wearing T-shirts, displaying the ampaign postcard and signing petitions to express their opposition to the employer's proposed enterprise agreement.

See Newcastle rally coverage page 1 & 12

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www.ieu.asn.au on the ground

The Fair Work Act’s unfair protected action ballots fail to deter IEU members Iain Bailey Industrial Officer

The results of the IEU’s protected action ballots in Catholic diocesan schools are a real credit to members.

This is particularly so when you consider that Australia’s system of protected action ballots has been criticised as being in breach of International Labour Organisation (ILO) obligations regarding the right to strike, and as representing both an obstacle to the right to take action and a mechanism for policing bargaining behaviour.

Following the enactment of the Fair Work Act (FWA) in 2009 a labour law academic at the University of Sydney, Shae McCrystal, acknowledged that Australia had finally remedied many of the evils of Work Choices that had not been compliant with obligations it had assumed under ILO conventions. In the Australian Journal of Labour Law, McCrystal wrote: “The abolition of individual agreements, the enactment of good faith bargaining principles, representation and union recognition rights and the inclusion of a requirement that bargaining representatives in collective bargaining refrain from ‘capricious or unfair conduct that undermines freedom of association or collective bargaining’ will improve the standing of Australian law with respect to the obligations under [ILO] conventions”.

However she claims that the same is not true of the FWA’s compliance with obligations in respect of the right to strike (used in the ILO context, the ‘right to strike’ encompasses many forms of action including work bans and work to

rule campaigns). She concludes that: “In establishing a process that is, when taken as a whole, greater than the sum of its parts, the FWA undermines the right to strike by hindering access to protected industrial action. This is not in compliance with the letter or spirit of [the applicable ILO Convention]”.

Of the various parts of the process, the ILO’s Committee on Freedom of Association has singled out the quorum (or voter turnout) requirements of ballots as being particularly problematic, noting that excessive quorum requirements represent a high burden and make it more difficult to obtain approval for action. McCrystal says: “In the Australian context… requiring half of the enrolled voters to vote in the ballot may be more difficult for larger enterprises spread across the country, and be found to excessively hinder the right to [take action]”.

So, with these observations about how the system of protected action ballots fails to meet ILO standards, and consequently Australia’s voluntarily assumed ILO obligations, the results to date are truly outstanding.

“With these observations about how the system of protected action ballots fails to meet International Labour Organisation standards, the results to date are truly outstanding.”

Temporary contracts renewed The Lismore Catholic Schools Office (CSO) has advised principals across the Diocese to improve their paperwork when employing teachers on temporary contracts, after ongoing action from IEU officers.

The IEU has had discussions over many months with the CSO about teachers not knowing why they have been placed on a temporary appointment.

Under Clause 4 of the current Teachers (Country & Regional Dioceses) Enterprise Agreement 2013, “temporary teachers must be advised in writing prior to accepting a position that it is temporary, the expected length of the appointment and the reason why it is temporary”.

It is worth noting that in the draft Enterprise Agreement (EA) proposed by Catholic employers, the above clause (which protects teachers from unreasonable temporary appointments) is removed.

Loss of this provision would deprive individuals of information about their employment in a temporary capacity, and leave the legitimacy of the ‘temporary’ appointment open to exploitation – another reason to oppose the employer’s draft EA.

The inherent difficulties of voter turnout factor among the reasons why the IEU advanced separate ballot applications in individual schools, as opposed to taking a statewide or diocesan-wide approach. It is also explains why there was a forensic need to identify who would be included in the ballots at each school. If the Union couldn’t be confident that the voter turnout requirements would be met, there was a real possibility a ballot could fail; not because members didn’t want to endorse the action, but simply the logistics of ensuring a sufficient number of ballots were cast.

These issues were also a problem facing attendance ballots where a significant number of members may have been absent from work due to leave, working part-time, or simply being away due to school sport or excursions. For these reasons it was particularly gratifying to learn that many members attended school to cast a vote in attendance ballots while on extended leave, or on a day they don’t ordinarily work at the school.

Some members expressed frustration that they didn’t receive a ballot. In some cases this affected members who worked at more than one school; whereas the IEU

Many temporary teachers employed in Lismore Diocesan schools are not given the information that is required under the EA. Many are on recurring temporary contracts for a number of years, without explanation.

The IEU placed the CSO on notice that if the issue was not resolved it would take the matter to the Fair Work Commission.

A letter from the CSO has recently been sent to all Diocesan Catholic school principals advising them of the need to adhere to the terms of the current enterprise agreement and re-issue all temporary teachers new letters of appointments for 2014. The CSO is also reviewing their internal administrative processes to address the situation. The Union commends these actions.

The IEU advises that all temporary teachers working in Lismore Diocesan schools should check their current letter of appointment to see whether they are reflective of the requirements in Clause 4. Temporary teachers should receive a re-issue of their letter of appointment for 2014 that includes the reason for their temporary appointment.

If this has not occurred then teachers should request an updated letter of appointment from their principal or contact the IEU (steve@ieu.asn. au or sandra@ieu.asn.au) to act on their behalf.

membership database listed a member at one school, the employer list (provided to the AEC to compile the roll for each ballot) might have showed the member at their other work location, or worse, still had the member at an old work location. While this is profoundly disappointing, the exclusion from a roll at least meant the bar for the quorum was not set higher than it should have been.

The really confronting problems arose when a postal ballot is sent to an outof-date postal address (and the AEC advised the Union that it relied upon the IEU membership details in this regard).

Obviously the inclusion on the roll of a member who didn’t receive a ballot due to an incorrect address meant they were counted for the purposes of identifying the quorum needed. However such a member was unable to cast a ballot unless they knew they should have received it, and then took steps to contact the AEC in sufficient time. This again explains why there were such solid efforts needed to update membership details prior to the ballots, and to keep members constantly reminded of each ballot timetable.

While disappointing, those members who may have missed out on voting due to a data mismatch can take heart that as long as the ballot at their school was successful they remain entitled to take protected action.

Of the next step, being the requirement to take action within 30 days, McCrystal is equally critical: “This provision is excessive and hinders the free exercise of the right to take action”.

That being said there is little doubt that NSW/ACT IEU members have met, and will continue to meet, that next challenge with the same level of determination.

Streamlined PD registration in Lismore Steve Bergan IEU Organiser

The IEU congratulates the Lismore CSO on their move to change the way teachers’ professional development and learning is to be logged in the Diocese.

The IEU has raised with the CSO how better to assist and streamline teachers’ time in registering and validating their professional development.

From the beginning of Term 3 the process will be fully managed by the CSO, greatly reducing the time teachers spend on it.

The teacher identified professional development component process will remain the same with teachers maintaining their log on the BOSTES site.

It is important that teachers remember to have their own professional development activities validated and signed off by their principal.

Casual teachers in the Lismore Diocese are also being included in this process if they are undertaking significant work in Catholic schools.

Principals have been asked to assist casual teachers in the same way as permanent or contracted teachers.

The IEU encourages casual teachers working regularly in Catholic schools to request principals to register their PD and sign off any teacher identified professional development they may have completed. newsmonth - Vol 34 #4 2014

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www.ieu.asn.au on the ground

Students with disabilities campaign The IEU has launched a Students with Disability campaign, which will see IEU members sign and send a postcard to their Senate representative.

“Many students with special needs will continue to be denied a quality education, which is their right.”

To participate visit http://tinyurl.com/swadc

The postcard demands that the Abbott Government direct additional federal budget funding to the education of children with disabilities.

“Almost every classroom in Australia is likely to have a student with a disability, yet the Federal Government has failed to provide sufficient funds to support the special education needs of these students,” IEU General Secretary John Quessy said.

“These kids are seriously disadvantaged, and yet the anticipated future loadings increases have not been included in forward estimates,” Mr Quessy said.

“The eventual implementation of a new Students with Disability definition will be from the same envelope, meaning no genuine improvement for these kids or their classroom teacher.”

The Gonski Report has previously recommended significant additional funding for special needs students, regardless of where they are enrolled.

The IEU believes that the current funding inadequacies are a major barrier to the provision of essential resources, individual support and access to professional expertise, and that these are essential components in the provision of quality education to students with special needs.

The IEU remains extremely concerned that the under-funding of students with a disability will

mean that schools will need to “make do” with already over-stretched resources.

“Many students with special needs will continue to be denied a quality education, which is their right.”

At the recent NSW/ACT IEU Council meeting, IEU Executive member Patricia Murnane moved a motion condemning the Federal Budget proposal to dispense with the position of Disability Discrimination Commissioner.

The Federal Budget’s cutback to the Australian Human Rights Commission may see Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes without a role at the end of this month. The Council motion urges all members to contact their local federal MP to plead for the position to continue.

The role of Disability Discrimination Commissioner is not dispensed with completely, it is subsumed by another Commissioner, under the Federal Government’s proposal.

Patricia says not having a stand-alone commissioner for disability discrimination sends the wrong message to the community and schools.

“Having someone there to champion the rights and needs of the disabled and fight against discrimination is important. He is a beacon, a light on the hill,” Patricia says.

“I think there is more than enough work creating an inclusive society for a stand-alone Commissioner.

“With all the problems of funding for the disabled in schools, which seems to be going nowhere, we don’t need to lose this role as well.”

First Class The next generation Amy Cotton Professional Development Officer

The IEU is reaching out to its preservice and early career teachers with three key initiatives: Starting Strong (a mini-conference), a series of university visits and Teach, Survive, Thrive.

By engaging with students as they transition into the profession, we hope to excite their participation in the Union, raise awareness of their future workplace conditions and practice, and invite them to the extensive PD the IEU supplies.

University visits

IEU officers continue to visit university open days to run information stalls and

have recruited hundreds of university students as members.

In addition, the IEU offers complementary presentations to education faculties. These lectures/workshops range from topics such as the relevance of unions, voice care, surviving your first year and accreditation.

This is often the first point of contact students have with the Union and they are often unaware of the importance of the union movement and membership before the IEU’s presentation.

The IEU looks to visit even more universities in 2015, hoping to make contact with almost all final year students in teaching programs.

Starting Strong

Student members from ACU, Notre Dame, CSU, Wollongong, UWS, and UNSW attended a conference on 4 July in the IEU’s Wattle St office.

IEU General Secretary John Quessy welcomed the teachers to the profession and asked them to step up and be active members of the Union. IEU Assistant

Secretary Carol Matthews, and myself spoke about contracts of employment and accreditation.

Event coverage page 8

Teach, Survive, Thrive

Previously, the IEU has presented its beginning teacher program in the form of a single day conference in Sydney. This year, the IEU held two smaller events in the Wattle Street office (10 June) and at Fairfield RSL (11 June).

The new format was to offer an intensive, after-school session with one quality presenter.

Glen Pearsall’s session, Classroom Dynamics, drew from his extensive research and coaching in effective student engagement techniques. The goal was to address problems of behaviour management with small, repeatable actions and fun learning activities.

Glen focussed on providing participants with an arsenal of techniques to try, explaining how to experiment and adapt these strategies to each teacher’s personal

SECURING OUR FUTURE SAVE THE DATE: 21-22 MAY 2015 Exploring Best Practice: Induction and Mentoring in the Teaching Profession This two day conference will explore ways in which the profession assists early career teachers, the constitute parts of a successful induction program, meaningful mentoring programs in schools and in other related professions.

With a focus on real life experiences, simple structures and support mechanisms, this conference is enormously practical.

Interested in speaking at the conference? Contact Amy Cotton, Professional Development Officer, IEU NSW/ACT (amy@ieu.asn.au)

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style and the dynamics of the classroom.

He also discussed the diversity of students’ oppositional behaviours and predicted various reactions to behaviour management techniques, including talking the participants through how to cope.

At all times Glen’s focus was on building the capacity of participants to accumulate ways of approaching situations rather than focusing on finding a magic technique that would solve all of their behaviour management problems.

He stressed the importance of trying multiple approaches with students.

Glen also spoke about ways to exit confrontational dialogues with students gracefully yet firmly while maintaining the respect of the class.

Next year, Teach, Survive, Thrive will return to its conference format. The two-day conference, Securing the Future: Induction and Mentoring for the Next Generation, will explore concepts of best practice. It will be held on 21-22 May 2015 at UTS, Ultimo.

Event coverage page 11

www.ieu.asn.au on the ground

Teachers demand their own professional body It is a nonsense that professions like medicine, law, nursing and engineers have their own professional body but teachers remain the playthings of government policy.

Federal Secretary Chris Watt has welcomed the recommendation from the Australian Council of Deans of Education that the profession take over responsibility for training and registering new teachers.

“Teachers deserve a registration and accreditation authority that is of, by and for the profession,” Chris says.

“Current state and national bodies engaged in ‘regulating’ the teaching profession are not professional authorities. Teachers aren’t even majority stakeholders on these authorities.”

Invariably current bodies are products of legislative, policy decisions of different government at different times.

“If it is appropriate for the Real Estate Institute to be run by real estate agents then why do governments not trust the teaching profession to professionally and ethically manage the registration and accreditation affairs of the teaching profession?”

Bust the budget IEU organisers and members were among those boosting the numbers of a large protest against the Abbott Government’s Federal Budget held in Sydney and other locations on Sunday, 6 July.

Present Tense ELICOS news Kendall Warren Organiser

In the last few weeks, the IEU (in conjunction with the NTEU) has agreed to terms to settle a longrunning negotiation for a new enterprise agreement with New South Global, who run the UNSW Foundation Studies program.

Negotiations began late in 2013, and after a few early points of agreement, the parties had been unable to take those final steps to complete the agreement.

In the end there were four main areas of disagreement: salary, job security, workloads, and English teacher progression. On salary, management would not move from their initial offer of 2.5% per annum while, with job security, management had refused to consider

options put forward by the unions, such as conversion or staff percentages.

In regards to workloads, management had agreed to a formal working party, but were not prepared to put any wording in the agreement. English teacher progression (where such teachers hit a hard barrier on the pay scale) has been a long-running issue at the college, and management offered no change to their previous position.

By Easter, discussions had clearly reached an impasse, and so the two unions moved towards a Protected Action Ballot Order. This was granted by the Fair Work Commission in late May, and the ballot results were declared on 16 June. The ballot was overwhelmingly supported by members of both unions, with over 70% of IEU members casting a valid vote in favour of industrial action.

The bargaining parties met again in late June, where the unions reiterated the resolve of members to take whatever action was necessary, while at the same time holding out an olive branch that a negotiated settlement was still possible.

Management then offered a small improvement on their salary offer

and agreed to include wording on the workloads review in the agreement. They further noted that they had in good faith already appointed eight ongoing positions in 2014, with the likelihood of a further four or five in the next few months, and that the majority of these had come out of the current casual pool.

The unions were unable to get any concessions regarding English teacher progression, but those teachers concerned were prepared to accept this in the context of the general settlement.

In return for their concessions, management tabled a revised bonus scheme (wherein teachers get a set percentage of salary linked to student enrolments). The new scale has higher increments than the previous version, but on the flipside includes higher payments at the upper end. In any event, the bargaining team was satisfied that, given the very high recent enrolments in Foundation Studies, teachers would generally be able to regularly access the average bonus payments of 1-2% (and in boom years could earn up to 3.5%).

The settlement still needs to be endorsed by members, though the initial

response has been positive. The highlights of the new agreement include:

• 3% salary increases for 2014 and 2015 (backdated to January) • increase in paid parental leave to 26 weeks • new anti-bullying provisions • more flexible use of Additional Leave • improved Managing Change clause • revised Activity Bonus, and • inclusion of Workloads review clause.

At the time of writing, the agreement was still being drafted between the parties, and a meeting of members to approve the settlement was being planned for the week of 14 July. If members endorse the agreement then it will be put to a vote of all teachers by the end of the month.

Negotiations were long and difficult, but were greatly eased by the hard work of the two staff reps, Bruce Hanke (IEU) and Andrew Chuter (NTEU), and also by the resolve of all members in the workplace.

UNSW FS should serve as an example to members in other workplaces about what can be achieved when members stand firm together. newsmonth - Vol 34 #4 2014

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www.ieu.asn.au on the ground

Jessica

Today I have learnt more than I did in the past five years of university about getting accredited and superannuation. It was so helpful and really inspiring, particularly knowing that as an IEU member I will basically have my own legal team because it can be daunting thinking that anyone can accuse you of anything and anything can happen. It has also been great having the Union tell us that if we need to know about getting accredited we can just give them a call. This is all so reassuring and it has boosted my inspiration and confidence.

It’s really important to have the support of a union and I’d recommend that people come to these events and hear what people have to say as they are all so experienced, they know exactly what they’re talking about and there is no fluffing around.

Michael

I found out about today because I am an IEU student member. The accreditation and principal sessions have given me so many insights and have made me feel much more on top of things as I prepare to enter my first year of teaching. We’ve had a real insight into interview techniques and application advice. I recently started working in schools through my final year of university and that has been incredibly eye-opening. It’s both daunting and exciting. Having the Union there takes a lot of that fear away because you know you have someone independent but extremely knowledgeable who you can turn to if anything goes wrong – but also just for that critical information about accreditation, contracts, if you feel the workload is too much or that things are asked of you that shouldn’t be.

Irene

As an aspiring teacher today is a good way of finding out what you’re in for and what information is available to you. I’ve learnt a lot about the administration side of things that we are not usually made aware of, like applying for a job. For me the importance of union membership is knowing your rights, having your union guide you and making the most of that as a teacher.

These events are critical, as is understanding your rights and what’s expected of you.

Britney

Starting Strong a career lifeline for student teachers Tara de Boehmler Journalist

The IEU takes a “cradle to grave” approach to supporting members throughout their teaching careers and the Union’s Starting Strong conference for final year students ensured they will hit the ground running as they enter the profession.

IEU General Secretary John Quessy told the students that the Union was there to support them at every stage of their careers.

“We consider that professional issues are work issues and work issues are industrial issues,” he said.

Highlighting the range of supports, resources and professional development opportunities the Union makes available to members, Mr Quessy urged any non-members to join the IEU at the start of their career.

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“Professional teachers are Union members and ours is a collegial profession. It can be the most exciting career in the world – the most rewarding and sometimes disappointing. It is certainly the most undervalued.”

Presenters included principals Des Fox, from St Jerome’s Catholic Primary School, and Margery Jackman from Catherine McAuley High School.

They shared tips on making covering letters stand out, researching potential employers and how to make a good impression during interviews. They also assured participants that inexperience was not always a bad thing.

“You are a great gift to a school as a beginning teacher, with fresh eyes and new approaches and we want to learn from you too,” Ms Jackman said.

IEU Professional Development Officer Amy Cotton detailed the accreditation process

while other sessions included a superannuation snapshot, a workshop by IEU Industrial Officer Carol Matthews on contracts of employment and another by William Clarke College Teacher Alexander Wharton on surviving the first year of teaching.

He encouraged participants to share their fears about starting out. The student teachers said they worried they would not be good enough or would fail to teach something really important. They also dreaded dealing with workplace politics and some were concerned that fear itself would stop them from doing their best and would cause “Bridget Jones” moments.

Mr Wharton spoke about being aware of the supports available, including at school and in the Union, the importance of self-care, time management, being prepared, and how to avoid burnout.

Our university lecturer gave us the flyer about this event and I took one look at it and went ‘Oh my God, I need to go to this’. I was very interested in looking at surviving our first year and I got a lot out of the accreditation session. I hadn’t realised people did them different ways. It gives us more insight and it’s really reassuring to have people say ‘This is exactly how to do it and we can help you’. It also really helped to have the principals say ‘This is what we’re looking for and this is what you need to do to get yourself ahead’. For me the importance of union membership is knowing there is always someone there in your corner, no matter what, and I’m all for the professional development. It really helps to get information first hand and events like these really help to settle you mind.

Kara

I’ve joined the Union because I want to be supported wherever I get a job but also because I went onto the IEU website and it looks like there are some excellent events that might help me with my development.

This event has been a great way to meet teachers and to get involved in the teacher community. I’m doing my degree by distant education so have not been getting a lot of exposure to other teachers. Today I feel like I am not alone. It has provided a sense of the community and plenty of information so we don’t enter into teaching feeling bewildered and panicky.

www.ieu.asn.au on the ground

Council sees red on major campaigns

Activists take on Council

New Council members Caroline, Veronicas and James tell Newsmonth how the Conference contributed to their decision to nominate.

Caroline

At the Activists Conference I was approached by someone from the Union to ask if I was interested in joining Council.

I was inspired to get involved, particularly because of the campaign that’s on at the moment with the Catholic schools. Being an active Union member means I can be an advocate for staff at my school and it means I can do my bit when it comes to getting better pay and conditions for Catholic teachers.

Tara de Boehmler Journalist

Delegates at the IEU’s June Council were full of fighting spirit as they enjoyed updates and and reviewed numerous media hits associated the Union’s major industrial campaigns.

IEU General Secretary John Quessy thanked members and staff for their support of the 3Rs campaign for members in Catholic systemic schools and negotiations for a new agreement in AIS schools. He said the campaigns had a positive impact on recruitment, with more than 1300 new members joining in May. This was the second best month for recruitment in the history of the Union. Mr Quessy congratulated a number of new Council delegates who had nominated for their roles after

attending the IEU Activists Conference in the Blue Mountains. Of the 20-odd members who attended the Activist Conference in April, 10 have now been elected to Council.

Guest speakers included IEUA Federal Secretary Chris Watt, who encouraged delegates to fill out postcards calling for increased funding for children with special needs in non-government schools.

“They receive nothing like the amount of funding they would receive in a government school,” Mr Watt said. “In negotiations it had been agreed that all children with special needs would be equally funded but instead what we got was a loading based on the learning adjustment.”

Delegates also heard from ChilOut founder Dianne Hiles (see article below), who expressed the desperate need to get children out of detention centres

and the devastating impact of detention on children who remained in these centres.

“Childhood is deserving of special care and we are failing that in so many respects,” she said. “It is not okay to lock up children.”

A number of motions were supported

by Council including two moved by Patricia Murnane that urged the government to retain a dedicated Disability discrimination commissioner and to condemn the 2014 Budget cuts to environmental agencies and the CSIRO. IEU Organiser Pam Smith also spoke about moves to erode support of initiatives to stamp out domestic violence.

“Any move to erode these initiatives are of concern,” she said. “Any of us who have worked in schools would be aware of students who have been impacted by domestic violence.”

Veronica

I was looking for a way to be more involved in the Union and I wanted to do a good job representing staff at my school.

I really enjoy everything to do with the union movement and working with people who share the same interests to try and secure better conditions for teachers.

James

Going to the Activists Conference really gave me a motivation to get more involved in the Union and to go back to school and try to increase membership in my chapter. It also inspired me to think about what I personally could do to offer my services more fully to the Union. We had an election in the Riverina for our Council and that really sparked interest at school, so we had an increase in membership from that too.

Time to restore hope Ann-Maree McEwan Organiser

Dianne Hiles, Founder and Chair of ChilOut (Children Out of Detention), told delegates at June Council about what inspired her to action.

She and others were prompted to start ChilOut after viewing an ABC program about Shayan Badraie, an Iranian boy who suffered ongoing psychological trauma because of his experiences in Australian

immigration detention. In a moving speech Dianne provided Council with an insight into Shayan’s drawings and the educational, social and health impacts on the more than 980 children living in detention facilities.

ChilOut’s ambassador program offers training for Australian students interested in being active in their own schools or communities.

After Dianne’s speech the ice bucket was passed around and

officers and councillors donated $546 for ChilOut. This followed another modest donation recently approved by the IEU Executive.

As well as looking at the ChilOut website IEU members can become involved in the refugee issue through Unions for Refugees.

Unions For Refugees meets at 5.30pm on the second Wednesday of each month at Unions NSW on 377 Sussex Street Sydney. All union members welcome.

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www.ieu.asn.au on the ground

Catholic employer proposal bad news for women and carers Although more than 70% of staff in Catholic schools are women, and almost all staff have parental or other carer responsibilities, they are badly served by the proposed Catholic Enterprise Agreement (EA), IEU Women in Education Committee Convenor Pam Smith writes.

The extreme deregulatory approach of the EA is detrimental to the gains which have been achieved by the IEU over the years recognising the importance of work and family balance and to comply with industrial and anti-discrimination legislation.

Current work practices agreements in Catholic schools protect hours of work, break and meeting times and the capacity for flexibility around leave arrangements. It would also be of great concern if members

were forced to attend professional development on evenings, weekends or during school vacation periods.

IEU women members have voiced their distress about these proposed EA changes at recent regional Union women’s network meetings.

These gatherings have included a Central Coast women’s network meeting at Gosford on 12 May which was addressed

by IEU Deputy Secretary Gloria Taylor, who provided updates on the current issues facing the Union and emphasised the vital importance of protecting and advancing the equity agenda.

A highlight of the Gosford women’s event was input by Canadian exchange teacher Jennifer Gluwchynski, currently at St John the Baptist Primary School at

Woy Woy, who shared her experiences of teaching in Canada and Australia and her commitment to the vital role of unions in education.

In Albury on 11 June, IEU ECS Vice President Gabe O’Connell and IEU officers Verena Heron and Lyn Caton hosted a forum with Federal Assistant Education Minister Sussan Ley. While the Union appreciated the opportunity to share issues and concerns with the Minister, unfortunately she did not seem to appreciate fully the professional work of ECS teachers and the need for industrial and professional recognition and protection.

IEU ACT women members valued the presence of Senator Deborah O’Neill who attended a women’s network

event at Mary MacKillop College on 19 June. Senator O’Neill is a former IEU member who has spoken at a Union Women’s Conference and who has expressed support for the Catholic sector campaign.

This year’s IEU Women’s Conference will be held on 15 August at the Mercure Hotel at Railway Square and further regional network gatherings are scheduled for Dubbo on 7 August, Armidale on 12 September and western Sydney on 19 November.

Further information about Women’s Conference, regional women’s network events or women and equity issues is available at the IEU’s website ieu.asn.au.

2014 IEU Women‘s Conference

WORKPLACE EQUITY AND DIVERSITY Current and emerging issues in work, life & care.

AGENDA 9.00 9.30

10.00

11.00 11.30 12.30 1.30

2.15 3.30

REGISTRATION WELCOME AND OPENING Christine Wilkinson – IEU President Pam Smith – Convenor IEU Women in Education Committee Diat Callope – IEU Indigenous Officer John Quessy – General Secretary KEYNOTE ADDRESS Dr. Muyesser Durur, Campus Director, Charles Sturt University, Port Macquarie “The Future – Changing Paradigms of Diversity” MORNING TEA WORKSHOPS LUNCH KEYNOTE ADDRESS Emma Maiden Assistant Secretary, Unions NSW “What should be the priority for the modern feminist movement?”

PANEL SESSION/DISCUSSION Sharing experiences of work, life and care CONCLUDING COMMENTS/CLOSE Bernadette Baker/Michelle Omeros IEU Vice Presidents

Mercure Hotel 818-820 George St Sydney Friday, 15 August, 2014 9.00am - 3.30pm $50 members $130 non-members

Sponsored by

Please contact Franca/Jody at the IEU on 02 8202 8900 or email franca@ieu.asn.au to register or Pam Smith pam@ieu.asn.au for further information 10

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www.ieu.asn.au on the ground

Anita

I’m in my fourth year of teaching and work in an independent Islamic school in Strathfield. Our English faculty is very small so I came today to meet some more English teachers and also to get some knowledge about how to further my classroom engagement. Even when you’ve only been teaching for four years it’s possible to get stuck in your ways so I’d like to look at new methods for approaching class tasks.

The Union’s PD events are incredibly important to me. If you’re not constantly learning how to refresh your skills then how can you constantly be teaching? Teaching is organic. It grows. You need to grow with it. For me, Union membership is all about support and networking, which is invaluable to any industry.

Stephen

I’m a first year out teacher. I started at Waverly College this year, teaching Years 7 to 11 and woodwork subjects, which I’m enjoying. I love being able to see the kids in a different way from when I was a student. It’s a whole different aspect. I came today to develop my classroom teaching strategies so the students get more out of my teaching. I’m hoping this will take me to the next level so the students will be interested throughout the whole lesson. Being a member of the IEU means being able to develop a relationship with other teachers and find out about other schools, other people’s ways of teaching and also to have the Union there in case anything happens. It’s good to have the support the Union offers.

Maximum engagement Early career teachers embrace Teach, Survive, Thrive Tara de Boehmler Journalist Education consultant Glen Pearsall had everyone’s attention at the IEU’s recent Teach, Survive, Thrive events in Ultimo and Fairfield. After all, he had the techniques and the delivery down pat. But most of all, he had credibility.

Speaking about behaviour management and student engagement, Glen drew from his own experience of a career spent at the front lines of education and could assure the audience that every technique had been tested on students.

He also shared what-not-to-do anecdotes from his early teaching career, like the time he lost his temper at a student throwing a rock, raised his voice and confronted him in front of the classroom. The outcome?

The student enjoyed everyone’s attention while Glen was the one looking sheepish and out of control.

In his early career, which began in a “school of last resort”, he also did a lot right.

“Early on in my career I ran some professional development for some unions in Victoria telling first year out teachers what it was like. When that started I was a first year out teacher myself,” Glen told Newsmonth.

“It led to some ongoing work. I ran a program for teachers in crisis that was about ways to find out what their skill gap was, how to empower them and to rediscover their love of teaching. I got a whole lot more work and my books, Classroom Dynamics and Gladly Teach, meant I had a much wider audience than before.”

For most of the time Glen has been a consultant, he has also been a practising teacher. Formerly he was Leading Teacher at Eltham High School, Victoria.

“I think it’s more persuasive if you can test your consultancy against a Friday afternoon where the kids are unsettled and see if your techniques work in that context,” he says. “If I am going to promote an idea and say, ‘Hey this works’, I like to have tested it in lots of different settings, including my own. It also serves as a reminder that it is never easy but it is always rewarding.”

One of Glen’s favourite techniques is the use of praise to acknowledge and encourage good behaviour. Not only is the technique effective, he believes there are social justice issues if we fail to praise those doing the right thing while spending more time with those doing wrong.

“I really like praise techniques and the way you can subtly shape a classroom dynamic by praising the

right things. Rather than dwell on the one student who might not be being reached yet, sometimes it’s enough to scale the success and find the kid who is doing really well and catch the student behaving. Praise the good practice and grow the good culture of the room.”

Glen says student behaviour improves “like the tide” – everyone improves as we create an affirming, supportive culture.

This is the spirit with which he also likes to see teacher support and feedback conducted.

“Some teachers might be struggling or some might be doing really well but we’re all asking ourselves the same question: ‘Where am I at the moment and what’s something I’d like to improve?’

“Feedback and classroom management are particularly classic areas where people say a teacher can or cannot do it, yet often this just means the teacher has a little skill gap and if we can empower them a bit, this stuff can change really quickly,” Glen says.

“Teaching is a bit of an apprenticeship and a bit of a craft where we’ve all got gaps but we get better at it over time with practice – and finding a few small everyday ways to make a difference really helps.”

Fabian

As New Scheme Teachers we need to develop an understanding of the issues confronting our profession. I’m a teacher librarian and HSIE teacher and I am a casual, working in different schools. It’s important that I’m able to adapt to the needs of each school and I’m looking for something that I can take back and put into practice. I also like to share ideas with other teachers who are in the same boat. Our profession is very complex.

The demands are greater than ever before and for new teachers it can be difficult. There are so many issues: applying for a job, child protection, the curriculum, dealing with change, and the challenge to the role of teacher librarians. Joining the Union is not just about fighting for wages and conditions, it’s about making sure we get the most out of our teaching.

Stephanie

This is my fifth year teaching Science at Tara Anglican College. Events like these don’t just help me, they help everyone else in our department.

I’ll be taking tonight’s strategies and resources back with me to share with my colleagues. I’ve been to a few of these events before and I’d like to recommend them, particularly for beginning teachers but for anyone involved in educating children. They give you support, resources, feedback and advice. They also provide a way to network and share what you’ve learnt and what works for you. Being a member of the IEU for me is about being able to keep in touch with my fellow teachers and feeling like I have somewhere to go if I need resources or support. Particularly as a teacher who is still fairly new, I think this is really important. newsmonth - Vol 34 #4 2014

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www.ieu.asn.au overview

No return to era of grace and favour Sue Osborne Journalist

Members at the IEU’s Newcastle rally, many who had travelled long distances, gathered not just to protest but to “protect and defend quality Catholic education,” IEU General Secretary John Quessy said.

Addressing the crowd, John said only the Union and its members were standing up for quality teaching and learning, as the employer had retreated from it.

“They say we need to adapt to modern times and embrace change. How can losing your conditions make you a more modern teacher?” John said.

“How does reducing your salary or relief from face-to-face teaching make you a more modern teacher?”

John said he was “stunned” to discover the employers’ proposed enterprise agreement also included a dismantling of maternity leave entitlements.

“How any employer can imagine this is bringing us into the modern world I don’t know. It’s an absolute and total disgrace and disrespectful and insulting.

“Voting for this would be returning to an era of grace and favour. We want the employers to go away and rethink what is a dreadful mistake.”

IEU Assistant Secretary Mark Northam said the employer had put forward three pages of ‘evidence’ that support staff were ‘overpaid’.

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He said this meant in reality that support staff were to receive a 20% pay cut in the proposal.

Teacher Steve Orford, whose career began in 1978, told the crowd about conditions when he began work, and how “through the solidarity of the Union and by making justified and appropriate appeals to the employer, conditions had improved.

“If we do not oppose this current proposal, every year you will see a diminution of your conditions.

“Don’t let each other down, stick together, stay firm and this will work out in the end.”

IEU Rep and St Francis Xavier Hamilton Teacher Michael Kerby said “we’re being ‘unFarley treated’ and that Catholic Commission for Employment Relations Executive Director Tony Farley had accused the Union of a ‘1970s’ response in the media.

“They want to wind back our workplace conditions by 40 years, it’s blatantly obvious who is producing the 1970s response,” Steve said.

“We cannot accept or work with the current proposal.”

IEU Federal Secretary Chris Watt read messages of support from the Victoria/ Tasmania branch of the IEU commending the stop work action and calling the employers’ actions “reprehensible”.

Members from the Wollongong Diocese were due to gather at Lang Park at press time, on 17 July, to express their dismay at the employer proposal.

“How any employer can imagine this is bringing us into the modern world I don’t know. It’s an absolute and total disgrace and disrespectful and insulting.”

www.ieu.asn.au feature

More support needed, not less Teachers and support staff from St Dominic’s Centre for the Hearing Impaired at Mayfield were united in opposition to the employers’ proposal at the Newcastle rally.

Primary Coordinator Heidi Wilkinson, Teacher’s Aide Charisse Bekens, Learning Support Officer Anne Sheppard and Special Education Teacher Vicki Gould marched together to fight for their rights.

“We don’t want to go back 40 years,” Charisse said.

Heidi said she had marched to make sure her work conditions did not deteriorate, and Anne also “did not want to go backwards”.

“We work hard enough already, and we can’t get the job done in the hours that we work,” Vicki said.

“The proposal gives a really horrible message from the employer that they do not value the work we’ve been doing for all these years.”

Charisse said working at a school for the deaf meant every child had challenging issues, apart from their deafness.

“We need more support staff, not less,” Vicki said.

All the members said they would be more than willing to come to more rallies and keep marching and fighting for as long as it took. newsmonth - Vol 34 #4 2014

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www.ieu.asn.au feature

Minister addresses early childhood forum

Dovetailing with a successful IEU Women in Education forum held in the area last year, Albury Preschool recently played host to another forum specifically about early childhood education issues.

IEU ECS Vice President and Albury Preschool Director Gabe Connell, IEU Organiser Lyn Caton and Industrial Officer Verena Heron organised and hosted the forum.

Members and non-members, preschool and long day care teachers were invited,

with about 25 members from preschools attending, along with Riverina branch President Genevieve O’Reilly and a contingent of teachers and support staff from Xavier High School.

Guest speaker Federal Assistant Education Minister Sussan Ley spoke about the Federal Government’s early childhood agenda.

“She spoke about universal access and the productivity review. We made the point that the universal access money needed to be continued to maintain lower

fees, access and quality,” Gabe says.

“We also emphasised that we wanted to keep current ratios, and that the NQF should be retained in its current form particularly in regard to staff qualifications.”

Gabe says Ms Ley acknowledged that wages were a big issue, and that if she had money to offer the states for early childhood, it would be contingent on the states taking over the wages of early childhood teachers.

“She said she would like to see us paid the same way and on parity with school

Are your wages and salaries protected?

On 1 July, all transitional arrangements for employees who are not employed under an agreement ceased to operate.

This means for teachers employed in early childhood services without an agreement, the preserved NAPSA rates no longer apply. Your employer can decide to preserve your current rate of pay with no salary increase until your salary is the same or exceeds the rates in the Educational Services (Teachers) Award or they may seek to reduce your salary to the Modern Award rates.

Prior to this July, a four-year trained teacher in a preschool with six years of experience earned $65,132 per annum under the NAPSA (step 7) as compared to $56,614 under the Educational Services Modern Award (step 9). The figures for a long day care centre are $67,622 under the NAPSA and $58,879 under the Modern Award.

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For members who do not have an agreement in place, should a dispute about your current rate of pay arise, then the Modern Award rates which are considerably below your previous rates of pay will apply from 1 July.

While the IEU has made an application to preserve these rates of pay until the end of December this year, the Fair Work Commission will not hear this matter until August.

Community Connections Solutions Australia (CCSA) who represents a number of community-based services, have advised their members that they should not reduce anyone’s rates of pay, but when hiring they will to decide which rates will apply to these newly employed teachers.

This could lead to a situation where two teachers with the same qualifications and experience are being paid different rates of pay. If there is any discussion or indication that your employer may

reduce your current rate of pay you should contact the Union as a matter of urgency.

How can you protect your wages and conditions?

If you employer indicates that they now wish to pay you on the Modern Award rates you should contact the Union immediately.

An approved enterprise agreement is the most effective way that you can ensure that your wages and conditions are protected. The Union is there to assist you in developing an agreement and to ensure that it will be approved by the Fair Work Commission. If there are two or more teachers employed, your employer is required to negotiate an agreement on your behalf if requested.

Please contact the Union should you want any information.

teachers. We will wait and see what happens.”

Ms Ley also spoke of the problems rural centres have in attracting and retaining teachers, and indicated that an experienced Certificate III and Diploma qualified staff could do “just as good a job as a teacher”.

She said rural services should not be penalised if they could not employ a qualified teacher.

Gabe emphasised the room’s wish to keep the NQF in its present form.

Early childhood education under the spotlight More changes are expected in the early childhood sector this year with a number of reviews being undertaken. The Productivity Commission will shortly release its initial report where it is expected they may recommend changes to how the Commonwealth funds services through parents.

The National Quality Framework is also being reviewed, with any changes to the framework expected to be implemented in 2015.

Initial submissions for these two reviews have now closed.

Once the initial reports have been released, the sector will have the opportunity to respond to the recommendations of the reports.

The Universal Access to Early Childhood Education National Partnership is due to expire.

This program was designed to provide funding to increase the participation of all children in early childhood education, particularly in the year before school. We understand the there are discussions between the state and federal governments over the continuation of this funding

www.ieu.asn.au feature

“We know pretty well how to create a society that is more dynamic and more equal.

The problem is not the economics it is the politics.”

Economist counts cost of inequality Tara de Boehmler Journalist

Inequality has been growing markedly in most advanced countries and it is costing us dearly, says Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.

Visiting from the US, Professor Stiglitz told a crowd of 2000 at Sydney Town Hall in July that the trickle-down economic theory was a myth and replicating the American model would only increase inequity.

“The US and those that emulate the American model are seeing increased inequality with the share at the top going up, an evisceration of people at the middle and we have more and more people in poverty,” he said.

He said in the US, the top one percent got almost a quarter of the income, which had nearly doubled since the Reagan/ Thatcher era. Meanwhile the US minimum wage was the same as 40 years ago and actual wages had declined. This was not a reflection on workers’ productivity, which had increased 100% since the mid 1970s.

Shorts

Marking Ramadan

IEU Organiser Ann-Maree McEwan was recently a guest at the Affinity Intercultural Foundation Iftar dinner at NSW Parliament House. Affinity have held annual Iftar dinners for many years.

Iftar is the meal celebrated at the end of each day of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

Also attending were independent school representatives from Amity College, including the head principal and a teacher who recited from the Qur’an.

The keynote speaker was Professor Gillian Triggs. Jewish community leader Vic Alhadeff gave the vote of thanks.

The IEU wishes all Muslim members, their families and their students Ramadan Mubarak!

Low income super contribution saved More than 14,000 unionists signed a petition to ask politicians to protect

“Americans are more productive and educated but have not shared in the increase,” he said. “The bottom line is that the American economic model has not been delivering for most of our citizens.”

In Australia, things weren’t as bad “but they’re not far behind”. The nation’s share at the top was smaller than the US “but in terms of increase it is comparable”.

Australia was also the “third worst for tax transfer”, but taxing resources to benefit the most disadvantaged was part of the answer.

“If you don’t use those resources well, in particular to benefit older people, you can end up with what is known as the natural resources curse. You can end up as a rich country with poor people.

“Many countries have gone down this route. A few have shown there is another possibility.”

Among nations doing it better, Norway had “taken its resources and reinvested them in their people”.

“The result for Norway is the lowest level of inequality in any advanced country,” Professor Stiglitz said. “They have resisted

the Low Income Super Contribution payment. Senator Clive Palmer has announced that his party will oppose Tony Abbott’s attempts to remove it.

With Mr Palmer’s votes added to Labor, the Greens, John Madigan and Nick Xenophon, the payment is safe. This means that over 3.6 million workers will have a more secure retirement.

You can leave a message of thanks for the MPs who supported the payment: www.australianunions.org.au/lisc_ thank_you

Climate change impacting human rights

The dominant economic focus on climate change has significantly reduced attention to the human rights and social justice issues emerging across the Global South, social work researcher Professor Margaret Alston told the World Conference on Social Work,

the level of increased inequality that has happened in so many other advanced countries.”

While Australia had taken measures to prevent the worst effects of the GFC, Professor Stiglitz said he was “worried” that some people would like to emulate the US model.

He said America had a “very expensive, inefficient and unfair health system” and among advanced countries its education system was the most inequitable.

By contrast, “Australia is one of the best performing in this direction”. Professor Stiglitz praised our education system, access to healthcare and availability of other supports.

He pointed to research showing that inequity of outcomes and inequality of opportunity were closely linked, with people from poor families “very likely” to end up in poverty. For nations perpetuating this cycle of poverty, its growth and magnitude weakened the economy, slowed its growth and increased resistance.

For nations looking to “get growth in which all groups and societies benefit”, the

Education and Social Development 2014 in Melbourne this month.

“The economic focus, in Australia at least, has led to a highly politicised debate about taxation options, completely overshadowing the significant social issues and the scale of human suffering,” Monash University’s Professor Alston says.

She says Bangladesh is among countries to be “most critically affected by climate change” with up to 30 million people facing displacement over the coming decades, despite not having been a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

“There is a significant risk of damage to lives and livelihoods due to the increasing frequency and intensity of cyclones, flooding and storm surges, and slow-onset impacts such as droughts, sea level rises and river basin erosion,” she says.

answers laid not in economic models but in politics and policies, he said.

These countries needed a comprehensive agenda to fight inequality.

Such an agenda would need to enhance equality of opportunity to education, financial inclusion and inheritance taxes, promote full employment and discourage rent seeking. Meanwhile industrial policies needed to “redirect innovation to create more jobs”.

“We know pretty well how to create a society that is more dynamic and more equal,” he said. “The problem is not the economics it is the politics, which is why the political agenda is so important.”

For Australia, the question was: “Will you choose the policies that lead to more inequality and lower growth or an alternative path that leads to less inequality and higher growth?”

The talk and panel session can be viewed online at www.cityofsydney.nsw. gov.au/council/news-and-updates/videospodcasts.

“What is critical for the future of our region is a strong commitment to socially just solutions.”

Your click can save a life

“Lifeline’s work should not be consigned to the dark and gloomy confines of depression and suicide, but rather a celebration of the thousands of lives positively changed every single day”, says suicide prevention advocate Chris Meaney. Chris, who experienced first hand the work of Lifeline when he attempted to end his life in 2007, is now urging people to donate to Lifeline and watch a video of his story at www.lifeline.org.au/oneclick. To access support from Lifeline, call 13 11 14 or visit www.lifeline.org.au/gethelp.

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www.ieu.asn.au overview

Warm up exercises The hum • place your hands on face to remind yourself of projection and lip movement • hum ‘humm – ahhhh- humm’ repeatedly • bring the volume up and down • you should feel a buzz through your fingers The yawn • begin to yawn • pause • notice how open your throat is when relaxed – this is the desired openness • don’t finish the yawn (it will tense your muscles again!)

• repeat The silent giggle • giggle silently to yourself • breath in and out quietly whilst giggling • whilst giggling and breathing, say gentle things like vowels, days of the week, numbers • your throat will be relaxed and open during this exercise

Taking care of the tool of your trade Sue Osborne Journalist

When teachers teach, their vocal folds hit against each other about a million times a day. Vocal folds are delicate organs that can be easily damaged and need care, Speech Pathologist Cecilia Pemberton says.

Cecilia provides voice care services for Wollongong CEO, as well as seeing many teachers through her practice. She has also contributed to the Voice Care for Teachers DVD, which gives teachers tips on how to protect their voice.

Her material forms part of the IEU’s PIP Work Hoarse on voice care for teachers.

Voice problems affect about 20% of teachers. A study has shown teachers are between three and five times more likely to experience voice problems than the general population. There is no data about teachers of any particular faculty being more affected, although Cecilia sees a lot of primary teachers and PDHPE teachers.

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“As it can affect 20% of teachers, 100% of teachers need to be given advice about how to look after their voice,” Cecilia says.

Teachers who are well often take things for granted but, once damaged, the vocal chords can be hard to treat and problems can have devastating consequences.

“We know many teachers leave the profession due to voice problems, even if they are not medically retired.

“Sometimes teachers need specialised training on how to project their voice. In some European countries, the ability to project is part of the test to qualify for teaching.”

Cecilia believes current teaching styles see teachers speaking a lot more than they may have done in the past.

“There’s no 'sit down and write notes' or 'copy this off the blackboard'. Teachers are asking hundreds of questions a day, and not taking breaks.

“Often teachers are actually talking louder than they need to and this escalates the volume levels in the classroom.

“Some teachers find it hard to be enthusiastic without raising their voices, but it’s perfectly possible to be vivacious at a lower level. The loud voice becomes a habit.”

Another bad habit is repetitive throat clearing and coughing, which is a sign of throat damage.

“When you clear your throat you’re knocking your vocal chords together quite violently, so if you’re doing it all the time you may need help.”

“We know many teachers leave the profession due to voice problems, even if they are not medically retired.”

Constantly sipping two litres of water a day, keeping the volume down, avoiding throat clearing, and using amplification in large spaces or outside are some tips to avoid damage.

“A common problem is that teachers don’t know where to go if they do get a problem,” Celia says. They go to the GP and get antibiotics for a sore throat, but that doesn’t address the issue.

“I would advise seeing an ear, nose and throat specialist to see what’s happening, and getting a referral to a speech pathologist who is trained in the voice.

For more information or a copy of the DVD Voice Care for Teachers, go to www.voicecareforteachers.com.

The IEU has three copies of the DVD to give away. To enter, write your name, membership number and address on the back of an envelope clearly marked ‘voice care’ and send it to Newsmonth, GPO Box 116, Sydney, NSW 2001 by 8 August.

www.ieu.asn.au overview

30 years of global solidarity Kate Lee Exec Officer, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA

In 1983, a young Australian nurse named Helen McCue, a committed member of the Australian Nursing Federation, was working as a nurse educator with the World Health Organisation in the Middle East.

Returning to Australia later that year, she took a proposal inspired by her experience in the refugee camps to the then ACTU President Cliff Dolan.

Helen’s proposal was for the establishment of an international solidarity organisation in Australia. She had been inspired while working in the Palestinian refugee camps alongside nurses from Norwegian People’s Aid, the overseas aid arm of the Norwegian trade union movement. Impressed by their focus on skills training, Helen felt that the Australian union movement could also make a difference in the lives of workers and marginalised peoples around the world.

With Cliff’s support, Union Aid AbroadAPHEDA was established in 1984.

Australian workers reaching out to the world

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA’s first projects worked in partnership with refugee communities in war-torn Eritrea in the Horn of Africa, and Lebanon, training local community members as ‘bare-foot

doctors’ able to provide the simple and basic healthcare which can save thousands of lives of infants and nursing mothers.

These early projects underlined Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA’s commitment to a decent life for all and international solidarity through education and training, working in partnership with those whose rights to decent work, education, health and justice are restricted or denied.

It is this commitment that saw Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA move quickly to support anti-apartheid activists in South Africa, and contribute to the rebuilding of Cambodia, which had been devastated by three decades of conflict, including the killing of two million people by the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979.

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA’s current program has grown to over 60 projects in 16 countries including partnerships with Burmese refugees on the Thai Burma border, agricultural skills training with Palestinian refugees, supporting the rural poor in Vietnam and Cambodia, vocational education in the Solomon Islands, unionbuilding in Timor-Leste and Indonesia, women’s development throughout the world, and advocating for the protection of workers in South East Asia from the scourge of asbestos.

Fair wages and safe work for all

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA is unique because we place workers’ rights at the

centre of all our work. It is only when working women and men have education and skills, and can organise collectively to ensure safe workplaces and fair wages, that they will have the dignity of being able to feed, clothe and shelter their family and educate their children. Decent work with a fair, living wage is crucial to lifting living standards around the world.

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA also believes that the equality of women is essential for lasting change. The rights of women — particularly refugees, migrant workers and other marginalised groups — are a fundamental building-block of our work to improve women’s standard of living and increase their social and economic power.

Join us - Help workers everywhere improve their lives and defend their rights For 30 years, Union Aid AbroadAPHEDA, on behalf of the Australian union movement, has played a crucial role in fighting for global social justice for human rights, workers’ rights, self-determination, equality, freedom and democracy. Over the course of 2014, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA will be celebrating its life-changing work, as well as looking at the stories of solidarity that make up its history and future.

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA has helped train more than 80,000 Cambodians since 1985, mainly women, in vocational skills, agriculture, forestry and fishery, women’s health, HIV and nutrition, as well as unionbuilding and worker health projects in

the informal economy and the garment industry - a sector in which workers have recently been killed for their demands for a living wage.

Since 1998, thousands of East Timorese people have been trained in literacy, tailoring and handicraft production, and carpentry, mechanical and agriculture training. Most importantly, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA — with the support of Australian unions and their members — helped establish and build the trade union movement in Timor-Leste’s fledgling democracy.

In countries like Vietnam and Laos, health and HIV training, vocational skills and the strengthening of workers’ rights at the enterprise level have been a feature of Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA’s work, as well as projects assisting trafficked women and providing livelihood skills training for young disabled victims of Agent Orange.

Your support will make a difference.

Join the thousands of Australians who are already standing with workers around the world striving for justice and safe and decent work.

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA is the overseas humanitarian aid agency of the ACTU. Join Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA and make a regular donation by freecall 1800 888 674 or visiting www.apheda.org.au.

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The IEU continues to honour its loyal and long-serving members in workplaces all over NSW and the ACT with 30-year badges.

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www.ieu.asn.au overview

Education

Myanmar style Jackie Groom Organiser

Myanmar is an underdeveloped country that has been shut off from the rest of the world since the 1960s by a repressive military junta.

Whatever the real reasons for relaxing its grip on power, the junta in 2010 allowed for the democratisation of the political process and the implementation of reforms to boost Myanmar’s economy.

Myanmar’s population, rising incomes and renewed focus on education as a source of social mobility provides significant potential for international education providers.

To capitalise on Myanmar’s emerging potential as a source of students, the first Australian Education Exhibition will be held in Yangon on 27 July.

In March I joined a group of teacher members from country NSW who travelled to Myanmar to see first hand what educational opportunities were on offer.

In Yangon there are a number of international schools and we were invited to visit the International School Yangon (ISY). This is a private co-educational day school which provides an American and international curriculum from preschool to Year 12. It is also an International Baccalaureate Diploma school graduating a group of 35-40 students each year.

ISY is an American Embassy sponsored school and receives a small amount of funding from the American Government.

The school has 56 certified teachers, a director and two principals. The students come from over 35 countries.

Adam Fraser, a teacher from NSW, has worked at ISY for over three years. There are

Adam Fraser

two other Australian teachers at the school.

Adam shared his experience with us.

“In the four years of working in Myanmar the country has exploded with development opportunities for both locals and expats. The biggest draw card for me working here are the people. I have travelled extensively and have yet to find a warmer sense of community than that of the Burmese.

“I work at an American school that is sponsored by the American Embassy, The International School Yangon (ISY).

Working at a nonprofit school has been an amazing experience. Teachers and students have little to want for. Our demographic is 30% of our students are locals, approximately an extra 20% who have dual citizenship and the rest are quite mixed. It is a small school of less than 600 students from prekindergarten to grade 12, however we are highly sort after and have a long waiting list.

“International school wages vary significantly from school to school. There are agencies such as Search Associates (www.searchassociates.com) that deal exclusively with international schools and have statistics on each school to help make informed career choices.

“I am lucky enough to teach primarily Theatre with one Film class. After teaching English/Drama in Sydney for seven years I was never given the opportunity to teach a full Theatre load, which was my primary wish. Having full support from the administration to foster a strong Theatre program has allowed us to produce some amazing performance. I remember my second year here where my senior students made their own fire torches and where allowed to tear through a shadow

screen with kitchen knives. I would have never felt safe enough to try (or be allowed to do) that type of performance with high school students in Australia. One of the International Baccalaureate learner profiles is Risk Taker, so I felt we were living up to the standard.

“The international school circuit is extensive and once you’ve completed a few years you develop a sense of community with many other international schools in many other countries. I had to travel out of the country four times in my first year for school trips and professional development and made many friends in the process.

“I feel privileged to be living this experience. My healthcare is provided, accommodation paid for and no out of pocket expenses for professional development or teaching resources.

The package is quite attractive and when it’s this decent it’s worth sitting on for a while.”

Burma’s education system was largely underfunded by the former military regime, but is also tightly controlled as students were known to lead antigovernment protests.

In 2012 the National Network for Education Reform was set up. This is a civil society network that includes the education bloc of the National League of democracy, members of teacher unions, Buddhist monks and ethnic education groups. In June 2013 NNER organised a national conference attended by 1200 participants which proposed a series of reforms to parliament and the government.

These reforms called for higher pay for teachers, autonomy for universities, the inclusion of ethnic minority histories in

school curricula and the right to instruct students in their minority language.

The Government spends less than 2% of GDP on education, which equates to $1 per person.

We were also privileged to visit a monastic school. Buddhist monasteries have started schools to provide basic education and care for the increasing number of poor children who cannot afford to attend state schools.

Sixteen percent of Myanmar’s school aged children (more than 200,000 students) are studying at over 2500 monastic schools. Monastic schools are free whereas it costs parents 10,00050,000 Kyat at a government school for school registration, books, stationery, sport, library and a school fund. The average monthly earnings for a public employee is 50,000 Kyat.

A favourite tourist destination in Myanmar is Inle Lake. Here pilot programs provide English language programs and vocational training for Inle people working in tourism and hospitality. However most of the vocational education programs are provided by NGOs or multinationals eager to invest in Myanmar.

In October 2012 a Comprehensive Education Sector Review was begun to bring the quality of education up to international standards. The review was expected to produce final draft recommendations in June as a framework for sweeping improvements in curriculum and school environments.

There is a strong understanding that vocational and higher education curricula need to be relevant to the needs of the job market and will be the key to the economic development of Myanmar.

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Edekit can develop specific programs on request for school and KLA subscribers.

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Ring Sandy or Patrick and discuss your needs P: 0419 418 806 E: sandy@edekit.com.au Stop re-inventing the wheel...do yourself a favour and check out Edekit!! www.edekit.com.au newsmonth - Vol 34 #4 2014

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www.ieu.asn.au overview

IT Wizard

Ebook reader blues or luddite woes?

Daniel Long Journalist Could devices such as iPads and e-book readers be a poor substitute for paper books in our schools? As the push towards online textbooks grows in the next few years, a couple of studies make interesting links that suggests patience as we determine what is really best for our kids.

Recently, Norwegian researchers say the way students learn today makes a difference to their comprehension abilities.

Most teachers would already know this, but some may not be aware how electronic screens might be changing the way children retain and use their reading skills.

In simple terms, the researchers argue that electronic screens may have a negative impact on children and their development – in opposition to more recent expert claims that tablets such as the iPads deliver a rich educational experience for children.

The study from the International Journal of Educational Research states that there are clear and large pedagogical implications for the medium students intend to learn.

In what may surprise some teachers, Norwegian researchers say that “students who read texts digitally were more likely to receive lower scores on the reading comprehension tests”, compared to students who read the texts on paper.

Another report from the UK in May last year came to similar conclusions but for slightly different reasons. In a study

commissioned by The National Literacy Trust, they found that children “who read only electronic books daily are significantly less likely to be strong readers than those who read daily in print, and are much less likely to enjoy reading”.

Furthermore, Trust researchers surveyed a whopping 34,910 young people, from age eight to 16, so it’s hardly a statistical blimp. And like the Norwegian research that succeeded it, both studies resemble some of the more common fears teachers and parents have when it comes to unlimited use of technology in the school environment. The researchers don’t call the screens a bad idea per se, but they do caution us to encourage children to get a diverse mix of learning styles, including paper books, to enhance their learning development progress.

Should we limit the amount of electronic screen use in our classrooms until more extensive research can be carried out? It’s an ongoing debate that suggests more research still needs to be carried out before teachers can sufficiently determine the best course of action to be taken in their classroom.

Sources: http://www.kau.se/sites/default/ files/Dokument/event/2012/12/ mangen_a_2013_reading_linear_texts_ on_paper_ve_14552.pdf http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/ educationnews/10059820/Childrensprogress-hindered-by-e-books-andKindles-charity-warns.html

Education App roundup From time to time, IT Wizard likes to select the best and brightest education apps available to members. This edition, we have selected three that may appeal to the iPad curious, spelling bees and classroom math wizards.

The Teacher’s Guide to iPad If you’re still interested in the positive potential of electronic screens, no more famous or potentially useful for teachers today is the humble iPad. The Teacher’s Guide to iPad is a handy app that offers to shed light on exactly how these wonder devices work and how teachers can get the best out of them. Features step-by-step narration, tutorials, guides and videos.

Cost: $1.99 for iPad. Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/ app/teachers-guide-to-ipad-help/ id670175764?mt=8 Word Wizard Spelling tests used to be boring, but they don’t have to be thanks to what the New York Times is calling the ‘Speak and Spell for this generation’. Yes, that’s right, the Times is referring to the iconic 80’s toy that helped ET phone home and taught millions of children to spell through hearing the sounds of letters and their placement.

While we can’t guarantee this app will help locate extra terrestrials, it does pronounce and spell check words and sentences using a phonics movable alphabet. Spelling quizzes using more than 1400 questions

and answers are available to use or you can just design your own. Reporting software allows teachers to track their spelling bees and to chart their progress.

Cost: $2.99 for iPad and iPhone Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wordwizard-talking-movable/id447312716?mt=8 Free Graphing Calculator Leave the old calculator at home and go totally digital. High school students might get a kick out of this free app and teachers will appreciate the usefulness of a portable, never-forget-it scientific calculator app that can graph up to four equations at once and a provide a large range of scientific calculator functions such as arithmetic and exponentiation, square root, cube root, nth root, natural log and many more. Best of all, most paid calculator apps can’t compete with this free option – so save your money.

Cost: Free.

Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/freegraphing-calculator/id378009553?mt=8 (Apple) https://play.google.com/store/apps/ details?id=us.mathlab.android&hl=en (Android) IEU publications app Read this issue on your iPad now. Just visit iTunes, search for 'IEU' and download the free app.

No iPad? View the issue online at http://publications.ieu.asn.au.

Exchange making connections Suzanne Thibault - on exchange at Holy Trinity, Inverell, from Poplar Ridge School, Red Deer, Alberta

Suzanne Thibault visits IEU Exchange Coordinator Helen Gregory.

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This year Suzanne has been throwing herself into some consummate Australian experiences.

When she and her brother landed in Sydney one of the first things they did was buy a second hand car on Sydney’s Parramatta Road. Then they went fossicking at Inverell, “toodling around” Brisbane and getting to know the locals at Steve Irwin Zoo. By the time you read this, she will have visited Uluru.

Early this month Suzanne dropped into the IEU’s Wattle St headquarters while visiting Sydney. She came to catch up with IEU Exchange Coordinator Helen Gregory.

“It’s always nice to see the face that you’ve put your lifeline in,” Suzanne says.

“It’s been great to meet her after all the emailing – to actually make that connection and just say ‘thank you for making this work for me’. She made it happen.”

Suzanne describes her experience teaching in Australia as “the same but different”.

“Usually I teach Year 1 and here I’m teaching Year 4. While the teaching is similar, there are different traditions in

how the schools are run and managed.

For instance, in Australia there is a strong focus on athletics, which is very different. Here it seems like there is a day for every type of sport. Then there is the whole school uniform thing and eating outside.

“It’s an amazing experience seeing other people’s traditions and ways of doing things, the sights and the way you make fun of my language.”

She says her colleagues have made her feel welcome.

“I come from a little school with a teeny weeny staff. But at Holy Trinity – even though it is K-10 – everybody makes time to stay connected with each other. We have morning teas every Friday and once per term they set up a function for everyone to go to. The colleagues are strongly connected.”

Suzanne has done her best to make the most of the Term breaks, which has “been like jamming four holidays into one year”.

“It has been a lot of fun,” she says.

“Very expensive fun.”

To get a little cash back into her pocket, Suzanne would like to sell her 2002 navy Volkswagen Golf before

she leaves Australia. For details email Helen@ieu.asn.au.

Looking for a top Ontario exchange opportunity?

Prospective exchange applicant Kim teaches English and is also trained to teach English in the IB Program at Assumption College Catholic High School in Windsor Ontario. She is young, single, Catholic, sporty, runs the school website and blog, and has worked as a radio producer which contributes to her lessons on media.

The incoming teacher must be Catholic.

Kim has a lovely three bedroom home available for exchange in Windsor. Tourists flock to Windsor for its arts, culture and heritage attractions and lots of outdoor activities.

Look up http://www. visitwindsoressex.com/ This is a top exchange destination and a popular one too. We've had lots of exchanges there previously.

Visit the IEU Exchange page at http://tinyurl.com/ieuexchange.

www.ieu.asn.au overview

Labour Bites John Quessy General Secretary

Greek power

The Greek Government is poised to ‘conscript’ striking power workers following stoppages that have led to power cuts in some parts of Greece. The strikers, members of the GENOP-DEI Union, are protesting the proposal to sell off a third of the state electricity monopoly to private investors.

The legislation paving the way for privatisation passed through a parliamentary committee – all the opposition parties voted against it.

The Union is urging the opposition parties to force a referendum on the issue.

Meanwhile an Athens court is due to decide whether the unionists’ strike could be deemed illegal and abusive. (Source: ekathimerini.com)

Catholic Archbishop condemns lost conditions

The leader of Canberra’s Catholics has called on the Federal Government to protect the wage rates of cleaners, describing them as the ‘new Aussie battlers’.

Canberra and Goulburn Archbishop Christopher Prowse said he felt the need to speak out after the loss of conditions, which could result in wage cuts of 20% after last week’s shredding of guidelines covering many cleaners at Commonwealth buildings.

“There’s a moral dimension here, and I think as a religious leader I need to raise my voice and blow the whistle and say, ‘Hang on. In the rush to make Australia better I think we’re, in this particular case, forgetting about a very important group of our workers’,” Archbishop Prowse said. (Source: Canberra Times)

are prepared to take industrial action over NHS pay. Over 94% of midwives who responded to a Royal College of Midwives (RCM) consultation said they would consider industrial action of some type over pay.

The consultation on pay came after the Government rejected the recommendation of the independent, expert NHS Pay Review Body to award all NHS staff a 1% consolidated increase.

Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “The sense of anger and frustration amongst midwives is palpable.

We knew midwives were angry about the derisory offer from the Government but this response from our members highlights just how unfairly they have been treated.

Such an unprecedented response with such a large number willing to consider action should ring alarm bells with the Government.

(Source: union-news.co.uk)

Unions on ice

Canada’s largest private-sector union (Unifor) is rekindling an effort to unionise 1300 hockey players in the country’s major junior leagues, two years after the last attempt failed.

The Union has scheduled an organising meeting Wednesday in Montreal to convince players to sign union cards and form a board of directors for the prospective United Hockey Players Association. With 60 teams across Canada and the US composed of players generally between the ages of 16 and 20, major junior hockey is a business that generates millions of dollars in revenue.

“These kids need a union because Canadians are blinded to the realities of junior hockey thanks to our love for the sport,” said Ron Pink, a Halifax lawyer who was hired in 2012 during the last attempt to organise players. They “are beholden to owners who pay them a pittance,” he said. (Source: Toronto Star)

The month in labour history

• 3.7.1892 - A 6000 strong Broken Hill miners meeting calls for strike action in what becomes a landmark 16-week ordeal.

• 23.7.1894 – Labour Day declared a national holiday in Canada.

• 12.7.1933 – Screen Actors Guild holds first meeting with horror movie actor and union activist Boris Karloff in attendance.

Everything from online crazes, war, to the weather can affect what happens on the sharemarket. Make sure your students keep real world factors in mind when they invest a virtual $50,000 in the sharemarket under live conditions and they could trump their classmates and even win cash prizes.

Find out more at www.asx.com.au/sharegame

• 30.7.1975 – Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa disappears from a parking lot in Michigan never to be seen again.

Calling out the midwives

Midwives and maternity support workers in England have overwhelmingly indicated they

• 13.7.2007 – Canadian Supreme Court declares that collective bargaining is protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in that country.

2014 ASX Sharemarket Game 21 August - 29 October

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Keep talking about the 3Rs campaign

Chris Wilkinson President

Congratulations to MaitlandNewcastle teachers on a successful stop work meeting on 26 June and all who are taking action this Term.

Around 600 members looked fantastic as they marched through the streets of Newcastle, decked out in red IEU T-shirts, scarves and coats.

It is important to keep in mind the reason for this action and why the Union is calling for members to engage and support this campaign. It is your working conditions and wages that are at stake. Remember what the 3Rs campaign is all about: to RECOGNISE your increasing workloads, to RESPECT your professionalism and to REWARD your work appropriately.

We are talking about many years of negotiations to achieve better conditions and wages and we are not about to let them go.

Keep in touch with your school Rep, visit the IEU website and keep talking about this campaign. Branch meetings will be

held in the coming weeks, so find out when your Branch meeting is being held and make a point of attending to keep upto-date with the latest news.

The IEU Women in Education Conference is fast approaching and will be held on Friday 15 August at the Mercure Hotel in Sydney.

The theme for this year’s conference is Workplace Equity and Diversity – Current and Emerging Issues in Work, Life and Care. Places fill quickly, so make sure you register early to obtain a place.

Pam Smith and her committee have put together an interesting agenda with Dr Muyesser Durur, Campus Director, Charles Sturt University, who will give the keynote address on The Future – Changing Paradigms of Diversity. Emma Maiden Assistant Secretary, Unions NSW will also address the conference on ‘What should be the priority for the modern feminist movement’.

Robin de Crespigny, the author of The People Smuggler will also be in attendance. Various workshops have been organised and should be of interest to all sectors of our membership.

To all Reps and committee members in our schools a big THANK YOU for your ongoing work and commitment to the IEU. We recognise your efforts and energy and appreciate all that you do.

Enjoy Term 3 and keep in touch with the IEU Website www.ieu.asn.au.

Value our teachers and support staff

Michelle Omeros Vice President, Independent Schools

Our colleagues in the Catholic schools are showing unity and determination during their tough campaign to maintain and improve upon their present salaries and conditions.

We wish them luck and hope they achieve a positive outcome whereby the Catholic employers recognise and remunerate their staff for the excellent job that they do each day. Anything less is an insult to the profession.

Currently, the Association of Independent Schools has begun bargaining for a new proposed MultiEnterprise Agreement (MEA). The current MEA passes its nominal expiry date on 1 October 2014. Once agreed upon, teachers and support staff will have to

Join the IEU social group & keep up to date with us... www.facebook.com/ieunswact newsmonth - Vol 34 #4 2014

Pam Smith Principals’ Organiser

Within the context of the current Catholic sector campaign, IEU meetings have been held with principal members in Newcastle, Canberra, Campbelltown and Sydney Southern Region and appreciation is expressed to Principals’ Branch representatives Sidonie Coffey, Peter Galvin, John Walsh and Linda O’Regan for organising these gatherings.

The IEU expresses its thanks to Catholic sector principals at this challenging time for their support to protect the salaries, conditions, employment security and career progression of their teacher and support staff colleagues.

Principals are also understandably concerned about the current lack of clarity about a future agreement for Catholic systemic principals or whether there is a prospect of individual contracts with limited industrial protection. The IEU has

sought discussions with CCER in regard to progressing its claim for principals.

In the independent and Christian schools sectors, the IEU is also seeking to negotiate enterprise agreements to protect and enhance the remuneration of teachers and support staff. Teacher salary levels in independent schools are of course of major relevance for principals’ remuneration.

As principals are aware, the IEU conducts a comprehensive professional development program, including the Starting Strong seminar for student teachers. Thank you to Des Fox and Margery Jackman for their contribution to Starting Strong on 4 July.

The IEU’s 2014 Women’s Conference on 15 August will include workshop and panel session input from current and retired principal members and their role in this and other conferences is greatly valued.

Sincere thanks once again to all principal members for their contribution to the Union. The Term 3 Principals’ Branch meeting will be held at the IEU Parramatta office on Saturday 2 August.

Further IEU principals’ meetings are scheduled for the Sydney Eastern Region on 11 August, Dubbo on 22 August and Forbes on 27 October.

Don’t be afraid to show your colours

vote and have the MEA approved by the Fair Work Commission.

It is imperative that we fight to obtain greater clarification of teacher workloads in this MEA. Many AIS employers exploit employees by increasing their workload and simply stating that there is no regulation in the agreement.

Teachers are teaching more face-to -face hours and covering a greater number of extra classes in the independent Schools, as the MEA does not have a clause to state what the norm is.

This is particularly unfair when many independent schools have a greater number of extracurricular activities after school and during weekends. Support staff are often called upon to work more hours with no extra pay.

AIS employers are well aware of the extra demands that are placed on teachers, especially in regards to VET training, mentoring and inspection requirements.

Is it too much to ask that teachers and support staff, the backbone of all schools, are recognised by the AIS employers and remunerated accordingly?

Join the online conversation 22

Support important during challenging time

Does your school have a striking Union notice board? Send images to sue@ieu.asn.au

Carolyn Collins Vice President Support Staff

Over the years I have noticed that some Reps are a bit reticent in displaying IEU information.

You are within your rights to have a section for promotion of information and other material.

The promotion of Union material is very relevant and crucial in the current industrial climate, especially for Catholic systemic and AIS schools.

Under the Fair Work Act, union members and Reps are entitled to promote and organise union activities at work. This includes holding meetings, recruiting members and advising non-members about union activities. An employer must not take adverse action against a person for engaging in industrial activity.

In addition, an employer cannot block access to union emails on a work website merely because the email relates to union activities. I urge all support staff to talk to their Reps. Be abreast of the current issues and make informed decisions, especially with the huge upheavals that are affecting our workplaces.

Take the time to read new proposed agreements. The devil is in the detail.

What you enjoy now will not necessarily be there in the future. Remember it is your future.

www.ieu.asn.au overview

Improved income protection benefit Bernard O’Connor NGS Super On 1 July the default NGS Super income protection benefit was improved to offer a monthly payment period of up to five years for up to 80% of pre-incapacity income, plus up to 10% of pre-incapacity income payable as a superannuation contribution. The new scheme replaces the previous two-year default option at 75% of salary and 10% paid into super.

For members who meet the eligibility criteria including the ‘actively at work’ test on the changeover date, the new income protection benefit will be applied automatically with no medical check-up necessary. In the event of illness or accident, income protection insurance can provide an assurance that a salary will be replaced with regular payments for members who cannot work in their own occupation.

It is possible to customise income protection to suit individual needs and members should do so. If the new five-year payment period does not suit an individual, it is possible to maintain the two-year period or to cancel the insurance completely. However, if the insurance is cancelled but then cover is wanted some time in the future, automatic acceptance will no longer apply and the member will have to apply with evidence of good health.

There are three important areas for members to think about with income protection The waiting period can be 30, 60 or 90 days. This has to do with how much sick leave is available and clearly, the shorter the waiting period, the more expensive the insurance. If the period of sick leave is inadequate to cover 90 days, then a shorter waiting period could be beneficial.

The default payment period is now five years. However members are also able to select a two-year or a ‘to age 65’ salary continuance benefit.

There is no point in over-insuring a salary. For assistance in determining the

correct amount of income protection insurance needed, NGS Super provides an insurance calculator in the secure section of its website. The calculator will determine the number of units needed to cover a specified salary and will also provide the cost of the premiums. It is also important to avoid under-insurance which means that not all salary would be insured and this can be checked on the insurance calculator.

The default income protection insurance cuts out at age 65, but a new option to extend the cover to age 67 has been introduced. The new option will not be automatic: members will have to apply for it and if successful it will provide a maximum monthly benefit of up to 70% of pre-incapacity salary with no super payment between 65 and 67. This change has been introduced because of greater participation in the workforce by mature workers as well as the projected increase in age pension age.

It should be noted that the NGS Super product design includes both income protection and total and permanent disability insurance and some eligible members may be able to claim on both policies in the case of a serious illness or accident. Many insurance policies operate in a manner which only pay one type of benefit because the total and permanent disability insurance cancels the income protection payments.

The relevant definitions are the inability to work in any occupation for total and permanent disability claims and own occupation for income protection claims whereby the member is unable to perform the normal duties of his/her occupation.

It is important to customise your income protection Insurance to suit your needs and the NGS Super insurance calculator will provide assistance as will the call centre. It is also important to note that in general if you have two income protection policies, that only one will pay.

Although insurance is not a core function of industry superannuation funds, it is a valuable member benefit which has helped thousands of NGS Super members over the years in times of distress. Now is a good time to organise and understand your current and future cover.

Newsmonth Newsmonth is published eight times a year (two issues per term) by the NSW/ACT Independent Education Union.

Executive Editor: John Quessy (General Secretary) for and on behalf of the

IEU Executive and members.

Managing Editor: Tara de Boehmler Journalists: Tara de Boehmler, Sue Osborne and Daniel Long.

Graphic Design: Chris Ruddle 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 Fax: 9211 1455 Toll free fax: 1800 804 042 email: ieu@ieu.asn.au On the net: www.ieu.asn.au

Advertising inquiries Chris Ruddle on 8202 8900. Such advertising is carried out to offset production costs to members and at commercial rates. It does not in any way reflect endorsement by the NSW/ACT IEU.

PRINT & MAIL PTY LTD 23 - 25 Meeks Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204 PO Box 6132, Marrickville South NSW 2204 P.02 9519 8268 F.02 9519 8264 M. 0412237233

NSW/ACT IEU Executive John Quessy General Secretary Gloria Taylor Deputy General Secretary Carol Matthews Assistant Secretary Mark Northam Assistant Secretary Chris Wilkinson President St Joseph’s Catholic College East Gosford Michelle Omeros Vice President Non-Systemic St Euphemia College, Bankstown Bernadette Baker Vice President Systemic St Mary’s Cathedral College, Sydney Carolyn Collins Vice President Support Staff St Michael's Primary School, Nowra Gabrielle Connell Vice President ECS Albury Preschool Kindergarten Leah Godfrey Vice President, ACT St Jude’s Primary School, Holder Peter Moore Financial Officer De La Salle College, Cronulla Marie MacTavish Financial Officer St Joseph’s Primary School East Maitland

General Executive Members John O’Neill Carroll College, Broulee Ann Rogers ASPECT South Coast School, Corrimal Pat Devery St Mary’s Cathedral College, Sydney Marty Fitzpatrick St Francis Xavier’s Primary School Ballina Ralph Hunt The Armidale School, Armidale Denise McHugh McCarthy Catholic College, Tamworth Patricia Murnane Sacred Heart Primary School Cabramatta Michael Hagan Mater Maria College, Warriewood Louise Glase St Patrick's College, Campbelltown James Jenkins-Flint St Brigid's Primary School Marrickville

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(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 professional advice.)

Sydney 485-501 Wattle Street, Ultimo NSW 2007 P (02) 8202 8900 Parramatta 12-14 Wentworth Street, Parramatta NSW 2150 P (02) 8202 8900 Newcastle 8-14 Telford Street, Newcastle East NSW 2302 P (02) 4926 9400 Lismore 4 Carrington Street, Lismore NSW 2480 P (02) 6623 4700 ACT Unit 8, 40 Brisbane Avenue, Barton ACT 2600 P (02) 6120 1500 newsmonth - Vol 34 #4 2014

23

www.ieu.asn.au giveaways

Thornydevils

Author TW Lawless Self published Three copies to give away

Hello Birdy

ABC DVD Three DVDs to give away

It is Melbourne in 1989. While investigating organised crime, Peter Clancy is caught up in a sinister plot involving drug importation, police corruption and some very kinky sex. Enter the world of Thornydevils, where nothing is as it seems. This book heralds the return of hard living Melbourne Truth journalist Peter Clancy, who appeared in Homecountry.

Hello Birdy is the boofhead’s guide to bird watching, according to its star, the incomparable Australian actor William McInnes. In this six-part series, William gets up close and personal with some of Australia’s diverse wildlife. With his offbeat sense of humour, he takes us on a refreshing journey to observe Australia’s incredibly rich birdlife and the people who work alongside it.

Bleakboy and the Hunter Stand Out in the Rain

Author: Steven Herrick Publisher: University of Queensland Press Three copies to give away

Jesse is an 11-year-old boy tackling many problems in life, especially fitting into a new school. Luckily he meets Kate, who wants to save the whales and needs Jesse’s help. But they haven’t counted on Hunter, the school bully. Award-winning author Steven Herrick has produced an inspiring and funny story about the small gestures that can help make the world a better place. For age nine upward.

More giveaways in July IE and Bedrock including the Kimochis Educator’s Tool Kit - RRP $595.00 To enter one of these giveaways, write your name, membership number and address on the back of an envelope clearly marked with which giveaway you wish to enter and send it to Newsmonth, GPO Box 116, Sydney, NSW 2001 by 8 August.

IT’S HARD TO BEAT THE RETURNS ON SOME INVESTMENTS.

We are a super fund. It’s our job to help build your wealth. However we believe that doing well is also about doing good. As a teacher, school or community worker, you couldn’t set a better example. So while we are proud of our track record as a high performing, low cost industry super fund, we know that’s not all you care about.

You could say we’ve learnt from our 103,000 members who have dedicated their lives to helping others.

We’re dedicated to educating our members and providing peace of mind.

We’re invested in being responsible corporate citizens committed to helping the community and the environment.

As any good superannuation fund should tell you, it’s all about giving a little to get a whole lot back.

For more information visit ngssuper.com.au or call 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