TAFE teachers reject federal threats

by Linda Simon

TAFE teachers across Australia will take protest action on June 1 against the Federal Government's threats to withhold funding from TAFE.

These threats were initially contained within the Government's funding offer to the states and territories which ministers jointly rejected at the Ministerial Council meeting in April.

These threats were made even more explicit when the Federal Government introduced the "Skilling Australia's Workforce Bill 2005" into parliament. This bill is wrongly named, as it will do nothing to address the massive skills shortages in this country. Rather the bill is about attacking TAFE, TAFE teachers and teacher unions.

On June 1, TAFE teachers and other workers in TAFE, will join their university colleagues in protesting against these attacks on public education. The Federal Government's agenda makes it clear that public schools will be next.

Vocational and Technical Education Minister Gary Hardgrave has been quite open in his comments attacking state and territory governments for supposedly listening to teacher unions. He says that this has led to the failure of the training system in this country. The Minister's critical comments, which demonstrate his lack of knowledge of TAFE and the wonderful record it has in supporting so many Australians to commence or further successful careers, will inflame industrial conflict. The protest action on June 1 around the country is just the start of the campaign. TAFE teachers will campaign under the slogan "our workplace rights are not for sale". This campaign was endorsed by National TAFE Council Executive at its meeting in Brisbane on May 18.

The bill makes it clear that federal funding for TAFE and VET will cease from July 1 unless the states and territories agree in writing to the conditions set out in the Government's legislation. This funding accounts for some 30 per cent of TAFE recurrent funding. In NSW this could mean a loss of $1.4 billion over the period of the agreement. The Australian Education Union is urging state and territory education ministers to resist what has to be seen as an unprecedented move by the Federal Government to undermine the vocational education and training system in this country.

The conditions contained within the bill that the Federal Government says must be implemented include:

• the offering of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), that is individual contracts
• more authority for Institute Directors including recruitment and remuneration of employees
• a performance management system which will include performance pay
• colleges neither encouraging or discouraging union membership
• increasing the proportion of user choice funding by 5.0 per cent per year, that is, funding for apprentices and trainees that must be put out to open tender, rather than allocated to TAFE
• removing requirements for time-based training for apprenticeships
• making TAFE premises available to our competitors through third party access
• no payments until the Federal Minister has authorised the annual state vocational education and training plan.

The funding on offer, despite the claims by the Federal Minister, has not increased. The $4.92 billion is a rollover of current funding, outstanding indexation payments and a reinstatement of the welfare strategy funding and Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives program. There is no additional growth funding, despite TAFE's continued growth in student places.

This campaign to protect public education in TAFE will need the support of all teachers and educationalists.

The Federal Government's industrial relations agenda to tie funding for education to attacks on the workplace rights of teachers, must be stopped now.

Linda Simon is TAFE TA Secretary and Federal TAFE President.

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Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005