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The Enterprise Bargaining (EB) negotiations are continuing on a fortnightly basis.

The IEU(SA) Bargaining Team, supported by a range of member experts, have been detailing the IEU(SA) claims, and putting proposals to the employer on how these claims can be addressed.

Member feedback has been excellent and has greatly assists us in putting forward our arguments and framing our claims and proposals. You would have seen our Organisers in your workplace supporting your Workplaces Representatives (Reps) and Sub-Branches to get active around your claims.

In our member meetings and visits to schools/preschools, workload, the size of classes/groups (and their complexity) and nationally competitive salaries are the ‘hot’ topics.

There is anger that the employer wants us to continue to do work for free, or for very little. We are giving up our time on weekends, school holidays and after hours. The work intensity during the day has increased as has the complexity.

‘No more freebies’ have been the call. There is no more goodwill to give.

SA Catholic Educators are some of the lowest paid in Australia, and with national funding agreements and a national curriculum, the question must be asked: Why are we paid less than Catholic educators interstate?

The employers’ claims summarised below are all about stripping conditions, making it cheaper for you to work on your weekend and increasing your workload. A key concern is their attack on workers’ rights by limiting your protections to raise disputes and for the IEU to be involved when they are making changes.

The employer has agreed to a few of the IEU’s claims. The mainly ensure they comply with legislative changes.

Where our organisers have been

• Visited numerous schools
• Held 4 local Reps meetings in northern, southern, eastern and western metropolitan locations.
• Numerous offsite catch ups with Reps and workplace organising teams.
• Text messages and phone calls

What the employer has said that it might consider from the IEU claims

• Update the Domestic Violence Leave provisions so that they meet the minimum legislative requirements.
• Include a ‘right to disconnect’ provision in the Enterprise Agreement (EA).
• Remove Junior Rates and Grade 1A from the ESO classification scale.
• Practical class provisions to be based on the risk assessment model as per Department for Education (DfE). However, the employer is not receptive to including class size maximums.
• Agree to increase the minimum hours of engagement for some ESO classification streams from 2 hours to 3 hours.
• Increase the toileting allowance to $600 and not index it to salary claims. (IEU claim is for $1500 indexed to salary increases.)

Summary of Key Employer Claims

• Reduce workers’ rights by removing standard provisions to limit the ability to raise disputes.
• Reduce workers’ rights through removing the notification of the IEU and thus the IEU’s involvement in major change processes.
• Change the span of hours for ESOs from 8:00am to 6:00pm, to 7:00am to 7:00pm. This would reduce overtime payments.
• ESOs working in Physical Education to have their hours averaged over a school year.
• ESOs working in Physical Education to have their penalty rates cut to 25% on Saturday and 75% on Sunday.
• Reduce the salary of Special Authority Teachers to below Step 1 and remove incremental progression.
• Greater flexibility to enable teachers to undertake relief lessons in excess of the yearly caps.
• In the CEA, attendance at camps will only be included if the teacher is to stay overnight.
• Change the span of hours for meal breaks from 11:00am to 2:30pm, to 10:00am to 2:20 pm.
• Reduce access to Consultative Committee training if you are the IEU representative. This will be considered part of your Rep training.
• Reduce the time counted for attendance on camps on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays. Currently this work is counted as 16 hours, and 32 hours with an overnight stay. They want to reduce 8 hours and 16 hours.
• POR: Reduce the tenure of POR3, from 4 to 3 years.
• POR: Introduce a 6 weeks’ notice period to inform of termination of POR tenure where structural changes occur.
• Introduce a new Youth Worker Classification.

What the employer has not agreed to

• Change to the Objectives of the EA to reflect the industrial document
• Class Size and Group Student Numbers
• Class Size and Group Complexity Provisions
• Autism Inclusion Teacher
• Payments if meal breaks are interrupted
• Specific Preschool workload protections
• Clause relating to unpaid Overtime for ESOs and IEWs
• Fatigue Guidelines
• Workload audits for ESO to ensure workload is reasonable
• Workload Protections for Counsellors.
• Criteria Based Increment for ESO and IEW
• Increasing motor vehicle allowance so that it is not less than the modern award and DfE
• Decrease in Contact Time and Increase in Non-Contact Time
• Relief Lessons to be defined as contact time, and payment if teacher agreed to work relief lessons above the teaching load
• OPA: reducing the amount of meeting times
• CEA: to be voluntary and that employees are paid for their work
• Meal breaks: uninterrupted meal breaks provided
• WHS clause and provisions
• COVID Leave provisions.
• Sick Leave and Medical Appointment Claims
• Protections against Technology Facilitated Sexual Violence
• First Nationals Leave
• Addressing Gender Inequality and the Gender Pay Gap
• Family friendly conditions, improved leave arrangements and greater access to flexible work arrangements (increase in paid parental leave, foster carers leave, reproductive health provisions.)

Members need to stay informed on their EB24 negotiations and be prepared to support the collective actions that drive change.