Independent Education Union Victoria Tasmania (IEU) members gathered at schools including Wantirna South, Drysdale, Mildura, Echuca, Heidelberg, Sale, Warragul, Springvale and Cranbourne East, wearing black, displaying signs and speaking with parents and the wider school community.
The action is a result of the stance of Catholic education employers, who are refusing fair bargaining, have rejected around 100 of the union’s 113 claims and continue to push to take key conditions backwards.
They have also refused to provide important information, including policies, procedures and data, that would assist the bargaining process.
Speaking at the joint rally of Our Lady of Mercy College and St John’s School, Heidelberg, IEU General Secretary David Brear said staff were sending a message to the 34 Catholic employers across Victorian Catholic education.
“And that message is: we won’t be settling for a second rate deal,” he said.
“We need employers to understand that IEU members are united. We are not going away. We are not settling for less than what staff deserve.”
IEU members wearing union colours, gathered before and after school, and spoke publicly about growing workload pressures and the need for a fair agreement.
Victorian Catholic school staff, unlike government sector workers, are at present unable to take protected industrial action due to Catholic education employers refusing to agree to fair multi-employer bargaining arrangements – a refusal the IEU is challenging in the Fair Work Commission.
Hearings are due to begin in June.
Afternoon gatherings have taken place all over the state, including Trinity College Colac (above), Whitefriars College, Donvale and St Margaret’s Primary School, East Geelong. PHOTO: IEU
“Victorian Catholic school staff deserve the same fair bargaining rights that other workers have,” Brear said.
“We deserve the right to take protected industrial action. We deserve the right to bargain collectively and to have real strength at the table.”
The union leader said workers wanted a timely agreement, a fair agreement and recognition for the work they do every day for students and families.
“We’ve seen our colleagues in the government sector able to take action,” Brear said.
“But Victorian Catholic school staff are being denied that right because Catholic education employers refuse to agree to fair bargaining arrangements.
“That has to change.”
Members are deeply concerned about attempts to wind back conditions while workloads continue to intensify and schools face ongoing workforce shortages.
The union says unresolved issues include salaries, workload protections, time in lieu, camp allowances, paid parental leave, education support classifications and basic union rights.
The IEU’s giant mobile billboard has been traversing regional Victoria this week, with visits to Saints College, Saint Francis Xavier College, Damascus College, Emmaus College and St Patrick’s College. PHOTO: IEU
IEU representative and St Joseph’s teacher Jerrod Davison said staff wanted parents to understand their concerns.
“We want the parent community to understand that we don’t feel like we’re being given the just hearing in our bargaining,” he said.
At Killester College, Springvale, Representative Chris Ruys said Catholic educators were denied rights available to most other workers.
“We don’t have the right to strike… every other teacher in the country, most workers have,” he said.
“Our employers don’t want to give us the right to strike because they don’t want us to have any sort of bargaining strength. And we need that strength to fight for better conditions and pay.”
At St Ignatius College, Drysdale, co-delegate Jaymi O’Connor acknowledged the role played by AEU members in the state sector.
“It’s important for us to acknowledge the work of our colleagues in the AEU that have taken action when we haven’t been able to,” she said.
“We are also appreciative of parents and our wider school community in their support of teachers and education support staff to be able to achieve better working conditions so we can provide the best learning experiences for our students.”
The campaign has become increasingly visible across Victoria, with a mobile billboard campaign travelling through regional communities this week and growing public support for Catholic school staff.
The Day of Action follows international recognition of the right to strike by the International Court of Justice and a Victorian ALP State Conference motion calling on Catholic education employers to consent to fair bargaining arrangements.
The IEU says further campaign activities will continue throughout Term 2 as bargaining remains unresolved.
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