Letter to Director-General

The Federation has written to the Director-General about the schools staffing dispute. A copy of the letter has been faxed to all Federation Representatives.

12 March 2008

Mr Michael Coutts-Trotter
Director-General
Department of Education and Training
Managing Director of TAFE NSW

Dear Mr Coutts-Trotter

Re: Schools Staffing Industrial Agreement

The Federation remains committed to negotiating a new industrial agreement on staffing public schools, for implementation from the commencement of term two (28 April, 2008).

Consistent with the statements made during 2007 by Carmel Tebbutt and John Della Bosca as NSW Ministers for Education and Training, the Federation believes public schools will be best served by staffing procedures determined through negotiation and finalised in an industrial agreement.

The Federation was so concerned about the Department's attempts to stall the commencement of negotiations during 2007 that we lodged a dispute notification with the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC). It was only through the offices of the IRC that meetings were actually scheduled at all.

At the first negotiation meeting on 15 November 2007, you said you had "no position to put" to the Federation. At the next meeting on 17 December, Department officers tabled a document with proposed changes to current staffing procedures.

Then, while Federation officers were at the negotiation table on 4 February 2008, you and the Minister for Education and Training publicly announced these changes through the media.

The Federation persisted with attempts to negotiate a new agreement, as indicated in correspondence of 21 February.

The Federation engaged in consultation with the presidents of the Primary Principals' Association, Public Schools Principals Forum, Secondary Principals' Council and the Federation of Parents and Citizens Associations, in developing a proposal that would avoid protracted industrial disputation on this matter.

On the basis of this consultation, the Federation gained in-principle support for a plan that would avoid industrial disputation and facilitate the key public education stakeholders' participation in joint working parties to develop policy that would form the basis of a new staffing agreement.

The Federation's plan proposes a twelve months extension of the current staffing agreement, to facilitate the formation of joint working parties to develop policies in the following areas - new incentives for isolated, rural schools; ensuring quality teaching and leadership; procedures to support schools in achieving a balance in staffing appointments; staffing codes; selection panel composition; state level review processes.

This proposal was presented to you at a meeting on 5 March and was explained to the Minister at a meeting on 6 March. The Federation requested a response for the consideration of its State Council meeting on 8 March.

Your letter to the Federation on 7 March did not provide a substantive response to the Federation's proposal. It did, however, acknowledge that a number of issues raised 'appear attractive to the Department'.

It is perplexing, therefore, to find the Minister presenting a completely different view of the proposal and the negotiation process in the media on 10 March. Mr Della Bosca said:

"At the eleventh hour the Federation proposed that we should wait twelve months and have a committee. Now, isn't that a familiar response from public education and the public sector? It's what, I think, many parents, many teachers and many students have simply had enough of. We don't want another committee. We know what needs to happen."

Clearly the Federation has not acted at the eleventh hour.

After considering the Government/Department's decision not to make a substantive response to the Federation's proposal, State Council comprising 300 teachers, executives and principals voted unanimously to endorse statewide Stop Work Sky Channel meetings on Tuesday 8 April 2008. At these meetings, members will hear a report on government policy developments and vote on a recommendation for further industrial action.

Despite the Government/Department's apparent lack of good faith, the Federation stands ready to negotiate an industrial agreement which would end the necessity for industrial disputation.

Maree O'Halloran, President, can be contacted about this matter.

Yours sincerely

John Irving
General Secretary

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Last Modified: 12 Mar 2008