Less than four weeks into the school year and Australian public school teachers are preparing to strike over an apparently crushing workload.
The new Enterprise Agreement, sought by the Australian Education Union (Victorian Branch), is driven by negotiations perceived to be in the best interests of staff and students.
Every Victorian will be affected by the outcome.
Public schools are the heartbeat of local communities. The success, or otherwise, of any public school has long-term and often lifelong implications that span generations. Schools are also big business – the business of teaching – and that business belongs to the people of Victoria, not just to those employed in public schools today.
What does the union want?
As reported in the Age on February 11, the union has advised the general public that they are seeking the following improvements to the teaching profession:
· More time to plan and assess students
· Employ 2000 more teachers
· A 21% pay rise over 3 years
· Protected industrial action
· A maximum of 20 students per classroom (K-12)
· A reduction of non-permanent teachers
What wasn’t reported were the many clauses in the proposed new Enterprise Agreement that will have ramifications for the teaching profession – in Victoria and Australia.
Some of these include:
· School councils to be employers – with union representation on council
· Union and employer working parties to be established in all schools
· Teachers represented by the AEU and all other unions under s201 (2), as noted by the Fair Work Commission
· EAL (English as an additional language) classes not to exceed 12 students
· Personal leave to be increased to 15 days per year which would be cumulative
· Where personal leave has been used, additional personal leave to be granted
· Teachers who are deemed to be in a poor state of health would be entitled to remain on personal leave
· 3 months infectious disease leave
· 5 days bereavement leave
· War service leave to be increased to 100 days
· Principals to retain their position and pay, while holding a full-time position elsewhere
· Increased union representation in schools, with 2 hours per week allocated for industrial matters – to be deducted from face-to-face teaching time
· Union representatives to be granted 2 days per term to attend union meetings with the Department of Education to cover costs for replacement teachers.
· 5 days leave to attend trade union training courses
· Domestic Violence leave (to be advised)
· Employees can request changes to flexible work practices, including for IVF treatment, parenting responsibilities, and if they are over 55
Nowhere in the proposed Enterprise Agreement does the union nominate the need for further training, personal development or upskilling on a regular basis, the removal of compulsory government programs, or the review of the Victorian Curriculum.
Neither does it provide solace to the thousands of dedicated teachers and principals who already work under difficult conditions, due to the failure of the union to remove ineffective teachers, principals, or practices.
Survey results involving less than 28% of the AEU’s membership were used to compile a case for negotiating with the Victorian Government; the Enterprise Agreement, not surprisingly, is yet to be finalised. Might this suggest that there is a small contingent of AEU members driving this agenda, while the majority is disengaged – even embarrassed – about the union’s threats?
Enterprise Agreements are generally of interest only to those employed in the sector in question; this one is an exception.
The Specifics
No-one is immune from the implications of the AEU’s agenda.
Here’s a snapshot of what the AEU survey claims:
1. Teachers are overworked. 80% of teachers work unpaid overtime every week.
2. Teachers work an average 53 hours per week
3. 80% of teachers work 15 hours of unpaid overtime every week.
While these statistics appear alarming, what is more alarming, is the implication that teachers spend more time on duties other than teaching. What is the basis of these claims? The current teaching workload (38 hours per week) involves teachers in face-to-face teaching for less than 50% of that time (about 22 hours). Does the union know how the other 31 hours per week are being spent? Furthermore, the previous EBA negotiated by the AEU, includes time for non-teaching responsibilities. How has the role of teacher changed?
4. Over two-thirds of teachers say they don’t have time to plan their classes.
Effective teaching requires less long-term planning and more short term observation, leading to immediate action – teaching, prompting and reinforcing of strategies, behaviours, skills and understandings. Effective teachers manage their time and their capabilities with confidence. Does the union allege that almost one-third of Prep to Year 12 public school teachers – 38,000 fully qualified professionals – cannot teach?
5. Principals are working 60 hours in an average week during term time.
Schools cannot be measured by the traditional 8-hour day. They are currently only required to be open for business for 40 weeks of the year – that is, when students are in attendance. Students have 12 weeks of vacation time per year and teachers 4. This gives teachers 40 weeks of teaching time, plus 8 weeks or 304 hours across the year to work flexibly to perform other duties.
Many principals choose to work longer hours during the school term to take advantage of the flexible work options currently offered. If the alleged 60 hours per week worked during term time were spread across the calendar year, which includes the 8 weeks of flexible work arrangements available, principals would actually work the same number of hours as teachers do.
6. Almost half of Principals’ time is spent on administration and compliance.
Principals work toward their leadership positions. Their applications must include evidence that they can manage a combination of educational and administrative duties – including delegation. Before accepting the role, they are acutely aware of the responsibilities that go with it. Principals represent the government as the employer of teachers. Does the union allege that more than 1500 schools and 590,000 students attend facilities where the Principals’ administration and compliance responsibilities determine the strength or otherwise of the face-to-face teaching of teachers? The AEU (Victorian Branch) represents both principals and teachers – or does it?
Here’s what the union says teachers and principals are seeking:
1. 85% of teachers need more time within school hours for planning and assessing student learning.
2. 88.6% of principals want an increased budget.
3. 88.8% of principals want to reduce compliance requirements.
4. 86.1% of principals want more specialist staff for wellbeing work.
5. 81.5% of principals want more administrative support.
6. 77.6% of principals want an increased capacity to attract and retain effective teachers.
7. 70.8% of principals want more teacher aides.
These potential solutions highlight a collective frustration in schools and the need for government, school councils, and the parent community to have a complete understanding of the underlying issues that exist in our public places of learning.
That 77.6% of principals want greater autonomy over staff (Point 6) is of serious concern. Does this suggest that over 1200 public schools in Victoria have a mixture of effective and ineffective teachers? Does the AEU allege that principals and teachers have not requested external assistance, professional and personal development, or more effective measures to transition between schools, or indeed across vocations?
Why Is This So Important?
It can’t be said too often: Our public schools are the heartbeat of the community.
Given the dire situation the union presents, one must wonder whether teachers must take drastic actions of their own and place their own children in independent or catholic schools.
Threats of strike action are based on fear and scaremongering. Victorians are better than that.
So the best thing that could happen would be for this strike to go ahead. Teachers and principals will lose their pay; students will be without a place to go; and parents will have to make urgent alternative arrangements. The greater the impact, the greater the opportunity for us all to become actively involved.
Strike action will be an opportunity for us to take a position – one from which we can stand up to these dangerous rorts.
We also have a responsibility to be fully informed. We must ask questions; every Victorian must understand where the problems lie, what the suggested solutions are, and to what extent they apply to every local school.
We must participate confidently to raise the level of dialogue about where we want our children to attend school. This will encourage parents and communities to examine all possible choices, rather than remain trapped in a union driven, one-size-fits-all system, which is failing.
This is a call to action.
1. Find out who is your union representative at your local school.
2. Ask for a community forum and, if your request is not granted, start one of your own.
3. Write to your local member of parliament seeking support
4. Contact your local newspaper and rally support
5. Do your homework. Visit the AEU website.
Our teachers and principals deserve better; our parents and children deserve better; and our communities deserve better.
Let’s work together to choose a world-leading public education system that will help Victoria and Australia prosper.
Cheryl Lacey is principal of Cheryl Lacey Consulting, a firm focused on elevating educational outcomes by putting the right professionals at the centre of the right improvement and performance strategies.
To learn more contact Cheryl at cheryl@cheryllacey.com or visit www.cheryllacey.com
© Cheryl Lacey 2016. All rights reserved
