Agreements 2012
Schools/Principals Agreement negotiations — update
Negotiations on the next Schools Agreement for teachers and principals began on Thursday, August 4, with bargaining talks scheduled on a weekly basis.
The negotiations will be carried out under a “without-prejudice” protocol. This means that neither side will publish the negotiating positions of the other or make statements to the media about the negotiations unless it is agreed.
The AEU will report in general terms to members via AEU News and other publications. Detailed reports will be provided to your elected representatives on branch council and the branch executive.
AEU elected officers and organisers will also provide detailed reports to members at regional meetings and sub-branch meetings.
These protocols are very important not only for the free exchange of ideas in the negotiations themselves but also because of the new "good faith bargaining" provisions of the Fair Work Act.
These impose obligations on the parties to exchange information and to negotiate with a genuine view to reaching agreement.
The challenge
The AEU will be reminding Premier Baillieu of his policy to make Victorian educators the “highest paid teachers in the nation”. Right now, Victorian teachers at the top of the scale are paid 7.8% less than the highest paid teachers — those in Western Australia.
So 7.8% is what would be needed to make Victorian teachers the equal highest paid.
However, WA’s own agreement has expired and teachers there have been offered 3.75%, 4% and 4.25% over the next three years — albeit predicated on productivity changes which have been rejected by their union executive.
A 2.5% "pay rise" — Baillieu’s current position — when the cost of living is running at around 3%, is effectively a pay cut.
However, the AEU will negotiate in good faith and Minister for the Teaching Profession Peter Hall has pledged that the Education Department will do likewise.
Tell Ted 2.5% is not good enough
The state budget has revealed half a billion dollars in education cuts and the loss of 310 jobs in axed programs, and ministers refuse to rule out larger class sizes. It's time to tell the Premier and his MPs that this is not good enough.
From now on, whenever a Coalition state MP visits a government school, AEU members are urged to wear red and display placards in protest. Sub-branches should seek a meeting with the visiting MP to outline their concerns.
Need a placard? You can download a selection here.
About our claim
Download a summary of the logs of claims (PDF)
Download the teachers/principals log of claims in full (PDF)
Download the ES log of claims in full (PDF)
Logs of claims set out the changes we wish to see made in the new agreements and are served on government as our starting point for negotiations. They are developed in consultation with members. For the first time, we developed both the teachers and ES claims in parallel.
Proposals for changes came from scores of sub-branch meetings throughout Victoria which were then put to almost 40 regional meetings across the state. Others came from meetings for special interest groups such as teacher librarians, new educators, music teachers, women members and principals.
All these proposed changes were collated into one log of claims for teachers and principals and another for ES staff, and approved by the AEU joint primary and secondary council.
The Fair Work Act
The current agreements were negotiated under the Howard Government's WorkChoices legislation. It prohibited a number of matters in agreements, including a direct role for unions in dispute resolution (grievances).
The next agreements will be negotiated under the Fair Work Act. You can read how the Act affects agreements here (PDF).
Current agreements
Teachers and principals can find information about your current agreement here. Negotiations for the next Agreement are currently underway.
Education support members can find information about your current agreement here. Negotiations for a new Agreement for ES staff are due to begin in January 2012.
