Proposed State Office Cuts: Background and Advice 3 June 2012

Email 3 June 2012

To: Non school based teachers NSW Teachers Federation members (OCAA)

Dear Colleagues

The Department of Education and Communities has advised verbally that it has established a short consultation period on the Schools Portfolio Proposed Functional Realignment and draft Organisational Charts. The Federation urges every member in the Schools Portfolio to send a detailed response to DDGSchools@det.nsw.edu.au and cc the Federation ocaa@nswtf.org.au . In addition, all members in non school based members in the DEC and other agencies are asked to consider the impact of the job cuts on their work and on teachers and students in public schools and to email a response to the DDG cc OCAA.

Background

Wednesday 9.10am the Federation was briefed for 25 minutes by the DEC on the proposed ‘realignment’. No documentation was provided. The DEC then and now refuses to reveal the extent of job cuts or details of the consultation process.

Wednesday 1.30pm DEC senior officers brief staff. Members report that the briefings were inadequate, often distressing and raised many questions. Documentation was release to members via the closed DEC intranet but not to the Federation until challenged. No public announcement was made by the DEC.

Thursday the President of the NSW Teachers Federation, Maurie Mulheron, emailed OCAA members regarding the union’s response.

Friday the Federation posted the article ‘Staff cuts at the Department of Education and Communities’ at News www.nswtf.org.au . Media outlets begin reporting to the public the until then secret proposed job cuts.

Saturday the attached Sydney Morning Herald news story ‘Education job cuts’ was published (see attached). Media outlets ran stories throughout the day.

Saturday 11.40am Federation’s democratic Council carried a resolution entitled ‘Putting students first’ which formalised the union’s opposition to the job cuts in the context of the campaign against the Government’s Local Schools Local Decisions cost cutting policy. An overview is available at www.nswtf.org.au . Workplace Federation Representatives will be provided the full resolution shortly.

Action

Please ensure your workplace has elected a Fed Rep, Women's Contact and in larger worksites a campaign committee. Some members have been told by DEC senior officers that the cuts are ‘inevitable’. Members are urged to reject this attempt to undermine your right to document your response to the proposed ‘realignment’ cuts and to put your concerns in writing to the DDG Schools cc OCAA this week.

Thank you to all the OCAA workplace Federation Representatives and members who have contacted me to date. Further advice for members impacted by the proposals will be compiled. The priority for members this week must be to respond to the DEC proposals and to cc the Federation your detailed concerns.

Regards

David

David Ferguson
Organiser
NSW Teachers Federation

ocaa@nswtf.org.au

This message was sent to all financial NSW Teachers Federation OCAA members at the email addresses held on our membership records.