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Teachers' Fed Response to Govt Offer
Date: 13 April 2000
Ms Sue Simpson, Deputy President, NSWTF said today "The Government's offer fails to recognise the extent of educational change and additions to work load which are already being borne by teachers.
"The offer is not sufficient to enhance the status of the profession or address the looming teacher shortage. Nevertheless progress has been made in negotiations in the following areas:
- Treasury funded salary increases
- Two per cent cash payment for the period 1/7/99 to 2/4/2000 but only for permanent teachers currently employed based on salary 1/7/99
- Increases for all allowances
- Protection of current teaching loads for primary and secondary teachers
- Maintenance of current conditions for specialist teachers including school and TAFE counsellors, careers advisers, ASLOs, HSLOs
- Maintenance of current conditions for all principals
- Paid year advisers for Years 11 and 12 in schools with enrolments over 700
- ETs to APs towards the end of the agreement without loss of positions
- Review of the effect of the national training reform agenda and the Australia National Training Authority funding arrangements on TAFE NSW.
"In order to settle this dispute the Government needs to be prepared to fund Government policy and not worsen teachers' working conditions. A satisfactory resolution of the following matters is still required:
· The provision of genuine pay equity provisions for casual school and TAFE part-time teachers.
· School and TAFE teachers' entitlements and the need for teacher agreement associated with working outside the normal span of hours of school.
· The circumstances under which TAFE teachers could teach in schools and school teachers could teach in TAFE.
· The exercise of teacher professional judgement on matters of teacher, school and system accountability.
· Maintenance of current workload for TAFE teachers and recognition that Annual Student Contact Hours targets are not a basis for quality educational provision.
· Acceptable provisions regarding staffing formulae, resourcing and working conditions in collegiate groups.
· Ensuring that TAFE teachers at the top of the incremental scale are not disadvantaged.
· The duration and the final form of settlement of any agreement.
"While some progress has been made, the overall package is unacceptable. The Government must fully fund its own initiatives without attacking the working conditions of teachers. If the Government were to satisfactorily address the outstanding issues, the quantum and configuration of the 12 April could provide an acceptable framework for a negotiated settlement.
"We note that today the Independent Education Union reached an agreement on a comprehensive package with Catholic Employers. In a letter to the Federation today, Dick Shearman, General Secretary of the IEU said "The terms of our settlement do not encroach on the unresolved matters that the Government is still demanding of Government school teachers. The offensive demands are excluded from our agreement and the NSW Government should take note of the fact that an agreement has been reached in the Catholic school sector which does not require changes to the working conditions of teachers. ... The IEU expresses deep regret that the NSW Government continues to demand unacceptable pre-conditions from the Federation and its members before it will settle on a similar comprehensive package."
"The Government should note the settlement with the Catholic Employers particularly in light of the increasing shortage of teachers throughout Australia", said Ms Simpson.
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