Pay rise flows on to Corrective Services but conditions under attack

by Richard Walsham

After a protracted battle, Justice Minister John Hatzistergos has finally reached agreement with the Federation and agreed to pay the 170 Corrective Services educators a 5.5 per cent salaries increase from the first pay period after January 1, 2004. Every other teacher in NSW had received this increase.

Mr Hatzistergos had, at first, resisted giving anything and then tried to put unacceptable conditions on payment of the amount.

An exchange of letters between the Minister and the Federation on May 5 "clarified" matters. This resulted in agreement that the 5.5 per cent would be paid and that Federation's award application for a total of 25 per cent for Corrective Services educators over two years would be considered on its merits, if necessary in an Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) hearing.

The Government is now shifting its attack to the conditions of Corrective Services teachers with proposals which, if successful, could affect every other teacher in NSW.

On May 12, the Crown Solicitor's Office lodged a counter award application in the IRC. This contains several dangerous proposals, the main one being to reduce the paid non-attendance time of teachers from the current seven weeks to a maximum of 20 working days -- in other words, they would be required to work three weeks longer per year than at present. This could be used as a precedent to make an assault on the amount of holidays teachers in schools and TAFE receive.

The other aspect of the application is that it contains no salary increases apart from the 5.5 per cent interim increase already agreed to. This application reveals that the Government's strategy is to pay Correctional educators less than the rest of the profession.

The Department of Corrective Services was taken to task by IRC vice president Walton in a hearing on April 28 over its failure to inform the Commission and the Federation of its intention to lodge a counter award application at a practice directions conference held on April 8. The episode exposes a dysfunction among the different players involved from the Government's side -- the Department of Corrective Services, the Minister's office, the Public Employment Office and the Crown Solicitor's Office. This all originates from Minister Hatzistergos' unilateral decision, made without notice, to break with the Government's policy that was in place from 1996.

The IRC is to set dates on May 31 for the hearing of the Federation's application. The Department of Corrective Services has sought to join its counter application with the Federation one.

Federation will clearly not accept any worsening of current conditions. Indeed, there is a strong case for the current conditions, especially relating to hours, to be improved. A number of the current conditions represent compromises designed to achieve permanency in Corrective Services on Federation's part in earlier negotiation rounds.

At present, the matter is before the IRC and Federation is preparing witness statements from Corrective Services educators. It is anticipated that hearing dates will be set on May 31. At the same time, Federation will be meeting with the Department of Corrective Services to see if agreement is possible on the terms of a new award, including salary rates.

Mr Hatzistergos has decided to break with the previous commonsense Government policy of maintaining salary relativity between Corrective Services and schools and TAFE teachers. It is obvious that he does not have any strategy in place as to what he thinks Corrective Services educators should be paid. To pay these teachers less would lead to a crisis in recruitment and retention. Why would teachers put themselves out to teach in the difficult environment of a gaol for less than they could earn outside?

To date Federation's relations with Mr Hatzistergos contrast unfavourably with his Labor predecessors -- Bob Debus, John Watkins and Richard Amery. These Ministers met with Federation when needed and kept open good channels of communication. Federation has reiterated its desire to have similar relations with Mr Hatzistergos. The ball is very much in the Minister's court.

Richard Walsham is an Industrial Officer.

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Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005