Time to speak up on temporary teacher status

By Brenda Seymour

Advise Federation now to be included in the union's claim to have temporary school teachers with sufficient service paid at the appropriate maximum rate.

Federation has sought to identify non permanent school teachers whose overall service would place them higher on the common incremental salary scale (CISS) than they are currently being paid as a temporary school teacher, and has already received a number of forms.

Negotiations with the Department of Education and Training about addressing the anomaly are underway -- the Department of Education and Training is now 'without prejudice' investigating these members' teaching profiles.

Federation is hopeful the Government will settle the matter with a sunset provision which would enable those temporary school teachers with sufficient service to be paid at the appropriate maximum rate of pay.

In 2001, the Department of Education and Training and Federation implemented an agreed process for the engagement of temporary school teachers and a phased introduction of their access to the CISS.

From 2001, temporary school teachers with sufficient service could access the CISS beyond step 8. Step 9 was the maximum CISS that temporary school teachers could access in 2001, step 10 in 2002, step 11 in 2003, step 12 in 2004 and step 13 in 2005.

Under the phased access of the CISS, once a temporary school teacher has been engaged, and paid at the maximum CISS step in a particular year, they have to work a school year or 203 temporary school teacher days to progress on the CISS.

If you began temporary school teacher work in 2001, 2002, 2003 or 2004 and accessed a step on the common incremental salary scale (CISS) which was lower than the step on the CISS that your service would have placed you had it not been for the phased introduction of access to the CISS under the schools award of the time, this is your last chance to advise Federation and be included in the claim. Please fill out the form below.

Affected teachers are likely to be those who have not gained much temporary school teacher work to progress by the phased introduction to the CISS. Many were retired and resigned teachers who sought temporary school teacher work after the introduction of the temporary school teacher classification in 2001.

Brenda Seymour is the Assistant General Secretary (Research and Industrial).

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