This policy outlines the AEU’s position on what is needed to ensure AEU school members work in a profession, workplace and public education system that supports them properly in their work, without compromise to their safety, health, welfare or wellbeing.
At the June 2023 AEU Victorian Branch Joint Primary and Secondary Sector Council, the following policy was endorsed.
The policy outlines the AEU’s position on what is needed to ensure AEU school members work in a profession, workplace and public education system that supports them properly in their work, without compromise to their safety, health, welfare or wellbeing.
The policy lays out a breadth of topics and positions that demonstrate the complex, multi-faceted nature of school employee safety, health, welfare and wellbeing. Fundamentally, this complexity can only be addressed by staff safety, health, welfare and wellbeing becoming and being:
- a key consideration in the funding, design, management and operation of the education system at all levels and all times. This includes pre-emptively preparing for, and during, times of crises such as COVID-19 lockdowns
- addressed in light of the extra demands placed on all staff in an under-resourced school system, the differing demands faced by a diverse workforce (by role, employment type, diverse backgrounds, etc) and changes to the demands staff encounter over time, and
- advocated for by education stakeholders at all levels, including by the media, to build the respect and recognition the profession deserves.
To achieve this, school staff, irrespective of role or employment type, must be placed at the centre of any decisions that may affect their safety, health, welfare and wellbeing. It is also essential to prioritise the core activities that contribute to employees feeling the joys and rewards of education work and to address the significant stressors they face.
The policy was developed by the AEU Education Committee, following feedback from the AEU’s First Nations members committee, AEU members, and AEU Joint Primary and Secondary Councillors.
The AEU Education Committee, comprising of school staff from schools across Victoria, is a key union forum to consider and address the range of professional, pedagogical and curriculum issues relevant to members working in the schools sector.
18 July 2022