Union training rolls on

Seen around Union training rolls on

Face-to-face training continued at the SSTUWA as educators headed towards the end of a busy Term 2.

Training such as union representative courses continued, as did online training. In a first for the union, it conducted is first ever online industrial training course.

The Role of the Union Rep in Schools course was facilitated by Education and Training Centre (ETC) training officer Cherry Bogunovich in partnership with the Teaching and Learning Network in Melbourne.

The 90-minute course covered topics such as the SSTUWA role and structure, that of the union rep and support available. Twelve SSTUWA union reps participated.

Look out for a more detailed story on the course in a future issue of Western Teacher. Through the July school holidays and into Term 3, the ETC plans to continue holding more face-to-face training on topics such as keeping skilled up and safe, workplace safety, provisional to full registration TRBWA, financial planning, restorative practice and teaching skills.

For more details see the training pages on page 28 or visit sstuwa.org.au/training

SSTUWA growth team coordinator Natalie Blewitt facilitates a new cohort of members for training.

Member Kane Pittard.

Angela Dunderdale shares her reason for joining the union.

Members learn more about being a union rep at their workplace.

Being involved in the union can be the spark for many things greater.

Many members state having support as a key reason for joining the union.

National education and union news National education and union news

More funding ensures student inclusion

A global report into progress on The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Sustainable Development Goal for education has found that more investment is required into professional development and training for Australian teachers in order to improve inclusive education for students with disability and to reduce student exclusion. The 2020 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report focused on inclusion in education, paying particular attention to children who have been excluded from education, because of background or ability. The report found that educational segregation is still prevalent in countries around the world, and that better-quality data and a shared understanding of inclusive education are an important part of addressing this situation. The GEM Report found that teachers in Australia are often not sufficiently supported to deliver inclusive education The urgent restoration of the billions of dollars cut from TAFE funding must be central to the Morrison Government’s initial response to Australia’s Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector. A recent Productivity Commission review into the VET sector recommended a new agreement between Commonwealth and state and territory governments to increase market competition in vocational education and not cap prices. It also called for adopting set cost measurement, delegating changes to training packages to industry, increasing the availability of income contingent to students with disability, with up to one third of principals receiving no instructional leadership training, and that teachers in Australia reported that they “lacked training on implementing differentiated teaching and adjustments”. The report stated: “In Australia, access of students with disabilities to qualified teachers was partly impeded by the system’s overdependence on unqualified support personnel.” AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe said more investment was needed to provide teachers with the resources they need to support vulnerable students. “Funding must be allocated more equitably for students with disability, to accurately reflect the needs of these students in public schools,” she said. “Almost 70 per cent of students with disabilities attend public schools, which work hard to ensure that issues such as access, specialist support, and health and wellbeing are appropriate for their loans to students and considering shifting subsidies from providers to a voucher scheme for students. The report also found that marketisation and incentives to private providers “initially increased participation but incentives were later wound back because of escalating costs and rorting” and that “efforts to promote a ‘more open and competitive training market’ had stalled”. However, over the past decade TAFE has suffered under a concerted drive from successive governments to privatise vocational education and defund TAFE, with budget cuts and an ever-increasing students so that they can learn in a safe environment. “But the stark reality is that this cannot be achieved without additional funding so that schools have the resources they need to support students. “The Commonwealth must take student inclusion seriously and devote funding and resources to assist vulnerable students to access a high-quality education. “This includes implementing a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce strategy. “Research highlights the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers and educators in schools, their presence contributes to the overall success of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. “The Morrison Government must also provide additional funding for specialist support and professional development for teachers to continue to develop inclusive

TAFE funding boost critical

education practices.” portion of government VET funding being directed towards low-quality and nonaccredited profit-seeking private training providers.

Since being in government the federal coalition has overseen:

140,000 fewer apprentices now than when it was elected in 2013.

A $3 billion cut from vocational education.

A decline in enrolments in vocational education and training.

• A decline in TAFE enrolments in particular, which have plummeted by 24.5 per cent. • A decline in Commonwealth government contributions to public

VET delivery by 23.2 per cent in 2018 alone. • A fall in the total number of TAFE institutes to 35 nationally in 2017-18, down from 57 in 2013/14. According to the Report on Government Services, total annual government VET expenditure has fallen by $1.6 billion (21.3 per cent) from the 2012 peak of $7.65 billion. In 2018 the Commonwealth’s contribution to all vocational education fell by $326 million (10.6 per cent), while its contribution to public VET delivery fell by 23.2 per cent. Experts are now warning that an additional 100,000 apprentices and trainees will be lost by December unless the Morrison Government acts quickly, according to new modelling from the National Australian Apprenticeship Association. AEU Federal TAFE Secretary Maxine Sharkey said that the focus of any Morrison Government response to the VET sector had to be to maintain TAFE as the strong public provider of high-quality vocational education. “A strong and vibrant TAFE sector must be a vital part of Australia’s VET response to the economic challenges we face, particularly in a post COVID-19 environment,” she said. A new poll has revealed that for the first time since the series began in 2012, half of all Australians believe Australian workers would be better off with stronger unions. A further three out of four Australians believe unions provide essential services to ensure members are paid properly, have a safe working environment and provide a strong collective voice. The ACTU, the peak body for working people in Australia, has welcomed the results, saying they are a reflection of the crucial role unions have played during the pandemic, and the important role unions play giving workers a voice. “The report’s recommended options, including voucher schemes and increasing income contingent loans, are extremely risky, and open the sector up to a repeat of VET-FEE-HELP style rorting by unscrupulous private operators. “It also ignores the urgent need to replace the billions of dollars of funding that governments have cut from TAFE in recent years. “However the ‘efficient national pricing’ mechanism and introduction of vouchers as recommended in the Productivity Commission’s report will further open the VET system to rorting, severely undercut TAFE, and further the Morrison Government’s efforts to sideline our public VET provider. “TAFE provides a huge range of highquality qualifications, and has a higher cost base due to its broad focus and established national infrastructure. “If future VET funding is directly linked to delivering a specific and narrow skill and calculated on the basis of the lowest private offering then this will unfairly disadvantage TAFE. “In addition, these recommendations raise a number of other concerning issues. What happens in regional and remote areas that do not provide a viable market for private VET providers, but which have already lost their TAFE institute? How will the range of regional differences across the country be factored into the proposed uniform loadings?” Ms Sharkey said Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly stated his aim to ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said the research showed that Australians knew who had their back – not just in the workplace but also during a national economic and health crisis. “Unionised workers have steered the country through this pandemic and will continue to play a leading role in the economic rebuild,” she said. “Australian unions fought for and won the JobKeeper wage subsidy and the increase to the JobSeeker payment. “We continue to campaign for paid pandemic leave and proper workplace safety regulations to keep all workers safe as the economy reopens.” get a million people back to work following the COVID-19 shutdown. “It stands to reason that his government should make sure these people are properly qualified and receive those qualifications from TAFE, the high-quality public provider,” she said. “However, to date the Morrison Government’s response in relation to vocational education has done nothing to recognise the integral part that TAFE must play in Australia’s recovery.” Ms Sharkey said that any attempt to subjugate TAFE to the demands of big business or to further encourage the profit motive of private training providers must be strongly resisted. “In order to rebuild Australia’s workforce and economy, a clear and strongly supported national workforce strategy is required. This is particularly important for youth employment,” she said. “Right now TAFE is the only institution ready to meet the challenge of rebuilding Australia’s workforce. “TAFE must be the government’s preferred solution for providing highquality vocational education, helping people to get back to work and getting the economy moving again. “A true strategy for workforce renewal can only be achieved through national support for TAFE, and by making use of TAFE’s longstanding partnerships with industry,

Support for unions at historic high

particularly in regional Australia.” Ms McManus said unions would be holding big business and the government to account throughout the economic rebuild, and working to win more secure jobs and fairer wages. “The pandemic may pass, but some in the business lobby have made clear they want to make pay cuts permanent,” she said. “We won’t allow pay cuts to further punish young people, women and be a drag on the living standards of working people. “Pay cuts and cuts to workers’ rights will not help Australia recover. They will just make this crisis last longer and deeper while people at the top reap the profits.”