Sky Channel stopwork April 8

By

Gary Zadkovich

All members need to attend the stopwork meeting as part of the campaign to protect the statewide staffing system.

Statewide stopwork Sky Channel meetings of up to two hours will proceed on Tuesday April 8.

The broadcast will start at 9am.

The meetings will consider a recommendation for a 24 hour statewide stoppage in term 2.

It is important that all Federation members attend the Sky Channel meetings, to hear a report on latest developments and to vote on future action in this campaign to protect the statewide staffing system.

For Sky Channel venues visit the Federation's website at www.nswtf.org.au.

DG casts aside staffing agreement

In a letter to the Federation on March 12, DET outlined changes designed to dismantle the service transfer system and replace it with local selection in each school.

These changes, effective from the commencement of term 2, mean that schools staffing procedures will no longer be governed by a legally enforceable industrial agreement between union and employer.

This departure from established industrial relations practice gives the Director-General the power to determine policy and procedures at his own managerial prerogative.

Statements by Mr Coutts-Trotter during school visits reveal the intent.

When he met with teachers at a western Sydney high school, he was asked about the dumping of the staffing agreement. Federation members in attendance reported that he made comments along the following lines: Yes, you will be without a staffing agreement. The current agreement has not been in place for very long and besides that, no corporations or big businesses have a staffing agreement. The CEO determines the staffing of the company (see page 5).

When the Federation proposed a plan for a 12 months extension of the current procedures to avoid industrial disputation and provide time for genuinely cooperative policy development for a new agreement, Mr Coutts-Trotter replied:

"We agree with much of the union's proposal of March 5, 2008, and appreciate the goodwill and sincerity with which it was put forward.

"We would be delighted to establish a number of joint working parties to develop specific proposals on the following matters, with the aim of improving the quality of teaching and learning in our schools and the effectiveness with which they are staffed?

"We cannot agree, however, to delay any improvements for a further year. We believe there are changes we need to make now? We will start implementation of our revised staffing procedures in Term 2, 2008."

The hypocrisy here is stark. The Director-General will impose changes that were not developed by a genuine collaborative process involving representatives from the stakeholder groups, while simultaneously proclaiming delight in establishing working parties to deliberate over policy and procedures that the Director-General chooses not to impose!

The Department wrote another letter on March 20, repeating the invitation for Federation's participation in working parties. This comes from an employer that has walked away from a staffing agreement, that has spurned Federation's attempts to negotiate in good faith, that has betrayed commitments made by successive education ministers, and that has knowingly incited an industrial dispute.

At every stage, Federation has sought to negotiate without industrial disputation. The union sought the support of the presidents of the peak principal and parent groups in developing the plan for a 12 months extension of the current agreement, to facilitate a collaborative approach.

Concerned teachers have been taking stop work action in many schools across NSW.

Gary Zadkovich is Senior Vice President.

Minister's staffing vision is 'suck it and see'

DG makes the agenda clear

Proposed changes are not 'improvements'

Wide-reaching ramifications for women

Industrial action with more to come

DG walks the path of resistance

DET staffing proposals unbelievable

Demonstration on Della's door

Country teaching loses its lustre

Widespread walkouts

Without transfers, why the bush?

Looking for common sense on incentive transfers

Bumpy local selection road in Victoria

Power to Victorian principals leaves teachers uncertain

For further information

April 2008 contents