Catholic school teacher strike looming

Teachers and support staff in the Catholic system are moving towards industrial action, after a unanimous vote by members and delegates at the Independent Education Union of Australia NSW/ACT Branch Council.

At the IEU Council meeting, members and delegates endorsed five key demands:

• Pay teachers what they’re worth (in line with other professions).
• Give support staff a fair deal (pay parity with their counterparts in government schools).
• Let teachers teach — cut paperwork.
• Allow time for proper planning (reduce face-to-face teaching load by two hours a week).
• End staff shortages.
   

“The failure to increase teachers’ pay to match that of other professionals and the ever-increasing workload has led to a crisis in teaching,” the Council resolution states.

“It’s time for Catholic employers and the NSW Government to hear our voice.”

“Our members are frustrated at the slow pace of negotiations given no offer has been received from the employers. The union sent the claim to the employers in November last year, well before agreements expired at the end of 2021,” said IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Acting Secretary Carol Matthews.

According to the IEU, the severe shortage of teachers in Catholic schools across NSW and the ACT is a direct result of declining pay coupled with excessive workloads. It has been turbocharged by the COVID-19 pandemic, with staff either off sick or isolating.

“Teachers are exhausted because of extra demands to cover absent colleagues’ classes,” Matthews said.

“Members have reported standing in a corridor between classrooms trying to teach two or three primary classes simultaneously. Something has to be done before even more school staff burn out.”

Union members agree with the NSW Teachers Federation that uncompetitive salaries and unsustainable workloads are driving teachers (both new and experienced) away from the profession.

“Teachers’ workloads are only increasing but teachers are not getting paid what they should be for the hours they work,” said IEUA NSW/ACT Branch President Christine Wilkinson.

“Young graduates are not going into the teaching profession because of the pay and workload. When I talk to my Year 12 students, not many of them want to go into teaching — it’s just not an attractive career for most young people today.”

The union will be discussing the proposal for protected action with members in schools throughout NSW and the ACT and any further decisions about industrial action will be taken in coming weeks.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Jonathan Stutz