New TAFE GA secures big wins
TAFE
By Minh Lam
Greater access to job permanency and improved leave conditions are some of the significant wins gained by the SSTUWA in the 2019 TAFE General Agreement.
More TAFE GA gains
An agreement in principle has been reached and TAFE members can vote on the agreement via electronic ballot until 4pm, 30 June.
Other highlights of the 2019 TAFE General Agreement in principle are:
The agreement contains a new provision that stipulates any fixed term contract lecturer can be considered for permanency regardless of stated reason for the contract, with permanency being able to be made at any time from the date of the initial contract. A lecturer employed through a merit selection process, where the job was advertised with the possibility of further fixed term appointment (including a pool recruitment process), will not be required to reapply for the same full-time contract position. Furthermore, breaks between fixed-term contracts of up to six months will not break continuity of service for the purposes of personal and long service leave (LSL). But they will not count towards accruing personal leave and LSL entitlements. Gains have been secured on other forms of leave provisions, including bereavement, carers and cultural leave. Bereavement leave has been extended from two days to three, while its definitions have been broadened. Personal leave has been amended so that an individual no longer has to be the primary carer to take personal leave to provide care or support for a family member. Up to two hours leave is available to any employee to donate blood or plasma. The provision is for each instance of a donation. A new clause now provides for up to five days (paid, non-cumulative) cultural leave for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees. There will be pay rises of $1,000 – the first one backdated to 15 December 2019. A second $1,000 pay rise will operate from 15 December 2020. SSTUWA TAFE organiser Ramona Mitussis said the negotiating process for the new agreement in principle had been exhaustive and partially slowed due to the COVID-19 crisis, but the gains had been worth it. “We ticked off some really good items from our log of claims,” she said. “People on contracts won’t have to go for their jobs again, which gives them peace of mind, and the commitments around reviewing class sizes and the allocations of student curriculum hours are critical to sort workload issues. “It will make lots of people’s lives better and there are lots of things in there that are better for the future.” Visit sstuwa.org.au/TAFEGA2019 for more details about the electronic vote and stay tuned to eNews, the SSTUWA website and Facebook page for further updates.
New Union Branch Representative Time Allocation Policy to be inserted in list of SSTUWA-TAFE Employee Relations Committee (STERC) policies. This will allow for an allocation of teaching hours to union representatives. New sub-clause making reference to a STERC working party that will examine nominal hours of delivery having regard to the allocation of teaching hours. This will provide for a review of student curriculum hour allocations. New sub-clause that stipulates that Clause 18 must be read in conjunction with the STERC Fixed Term Contract Policy. This strengthens the link between Agreement and Policy provisions. Sub-clause amended so that progression is now: one increment above appointment grade after 12 months service, subsequence increments after completion of Certificate IV in Training and Assessment with no further bars to progression. Drafting changes to allow for the removal of the salary bar. In relation to the provision of activities relating to delivery (ARD) off-site for part-time lecturers the following words have been inserted: “This applies to both full-time and part-time lecturers. The maximum 7.5 hours of ARD is not to be applied pro rata to parttime lecturers.” Additional wording to make current provision clearer. New provision that allows for an employee or eligible casual employee, who is entitled to unpaid parental leave, to have superannuation contributions made for a maximum of 12 weeks. Inclusion of Recognition of Prior Learning in lecturing duties and Recognition of Prior Learning – administrative work in Professional Activities time.
Western Teacher June 2020
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