Teachers from Liverpool, Fairfield and Camden-Campbelltown Teachers Associations called for the NSW Government to settle the staffing dispute by maintaining a statewide transfer system, when they stopped work and travelled to Farrer Place on June 11.

The Premier must act

By

Dennis Long

Potential terms of settlement for the staffing dispute have been made abundantly clear.

Federation has called on Premier Morris Iemma to step in and resolve the staffing dispute.

The call to the Premier follows the standing aside of Education Minister John Della Bosca on June 13 in the wake of the Iguana nightclub scandal.

John Hatzistergos was named Acting Education Minister.

In a media release, Federation President Maree O'Halloran said:

"During this period of uncertainty in the education portfolio, the Federation calls on the Premier to ensure the end of the long running dispute about the statewide transfer system through meaningful negotiations and a political settlement."

Without a political settlement, industrial action will continue as necessary, with Executive and Council authorised to call a statewide Sky Channel strike in August followed by fortnightly 2-hour statewide stoppages until the end of term 3. As far as possible, the 2-hour stoppages will be on different days of the week.

On June 19 Federation wrote to Acting Minister Hatzistergos asking for a meeting as soon as possible to discuss the staffing issue and teacher education qualifications for TAFE teachers.

On June 22, Director-General Michael Coutts-Trotter sent an email to teachers announcing further unilateral changes to its procedures.

Federation rejected outright the Department of Education and Training's proposal to grant an interview to the service transfer applicant with the most transfer points when a classroom teacher vacancy is advertised for filling through local selection. The offer of an interview for an advertised position is not a service transfer.

DET has announced that all selection panels for classroom teacher, executive and principal positions will now include a teacher elected by the teaching staff at the school, resolving at least for the time being the confusion around this issue. Members are advised that the union's policy is for the teacher representative on selection panels to be the Federation Representative or Women's Contact.

In the absence of real negotiations to maintain a genuine statewide transfer system, Federation has taken steps to limit the damage caused by the imposed procedures.

On May 27 Federation notified the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) of its intention to run a major industrial case seeking minimum staffing levels for teachers in schools so as to prevent unilateral change by the Director-General in the future.

On June 5, Federation filed a dispute in the IRC to protect the rights and entitlements of members with transfer points who are adversely affected by the new staffing procedures and casual and temporary teachers under the Teacher Employment Priority Scheme (TEPS) which recognises the service given by casual and temporary teachers to the system.

These steps follow Federation's application to the IRC and subsequent negotiation to ensure that all vacancies that arose during the term of the 2005-08 staffing agreement are filled under the provisions of that agreement.

On June 19, Federation sent to Federation Representatives in all schools the lists of vacancies to be filled under the old procedures. Federation Representatives in schools on the lists must insist that the procedures are followed. Federation Representatives in other schools were asked to advise members with transfers in for the vacancies on the lists to contact Staffing.

It is important to understand that the procedures to fill these vacancies are only being enforced because of the old, expired staffing agreement. Unless members can, through industrial and political action, secure a new agreement, all staffing procedures for vacancies from term 2 on will be at the whim of DET and the state government of the day.

The union believes the potential terms of settlement have been made "abundantly clear" to the Minister and the Director-General.

Dennis Long is the Editor.

Industrial action on staffing to continue

Principals' committee gives unanimous support

Della backtracks on panels

90 per cent of teachers oppose staffing changes

DG out-numbered

Staffing words haunt Tebbutt

Incentive transfers are the key

Real incentives needed

SPC staffing decisions contradictory

Teaching out of subject area and oversized classes

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June 2008 contents