More permanency promised in TAFE

By Maree O’Halloran

The new TAFE staffing agreement commits the Department of Education and Training (DET) to increasing permanency in TAFE.

The staffing agreement was signed by Federation and the DET on March 2, the last opportunity before the State Government entered into caretaker mode.

The new agreement was achieved after many negotiation sessions, effective lobbying by the TAFE Teachers Association and the preparedness of TAFE TA members to take industrial action.

One of the benchmarks for measuring any permanency gain is the figure of 5104 equivalent full-time (EFT) permanent positions (53 per cent permanency) as at semester 1, 2006, just before the end of the previous agreement. Federation will need to rigorously monitor staffing data during the life of the agreement to ensure that permanency does increase. The agreement expires on December 31, 2009.

One of the benefits of the agreement is that it establishes a platform of EFT permanent positions to ensure that the trend to casualisation is reversed. The 2003 staffing agreement was the first step to breaking that trend.

Another important aspect of the agreement is the commitment to increase the number of Aboriginal teachers in TAFE.

As a result of this new staffing agreement, temporary members in TAFE will finally be entitled to apply to convert to permanency after two years under the same conditions as apply to all other workers in TAFE.

Federation will continue to campaign for better conditions for non-permanent teachers and more permanency in TAFE. TAFE must not be allowed to use the guise of "flexibility" to exploit people by employing them continuously in non-permanent positions.

More detailed information about the agreement will be sent to TAFE TA members in the near future.

Maree O'Halloran is the President.

For further information

March 2007 contents