More than 17,000 teachers and support staff in 540 Catholic diocesan schools throughout NSW and the ACT have voted overwhelmingly for the right to take protected industrial action in support of five key claims for their new enterprise agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IEU Executive has endorsed a full-day stop work on Friday 27 May. Rallies will be held throughout NSW and the ACT (see attached list).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTaking protected industrial action is no small thing \u2013 we don\u2019t take it lightly,\u201d said Independent Education Union of Australia NSW\/ACT Branch Secretary Mark Northam. \u201cTeachers and support staff across both the government and non-government sectors are dedicated professionals pushed to breaking point. Schools have been running on good will, but it is rapidly evaporating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the right to take protected action, IEU members participated in a formal balloting process complying with strict federal laws. It was run across all 11 Catholic dioceses by an external agent \u2013 and all 11 Catholic dioceses sent a strong message that it\u2019s time for action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe sharply rising cost of living, lack of real wages growth, ever-increasing workloads and the pandemic have caused crippling staff shortages in Catholic schools \u2013 our members are exhausted
and burnt out,\u201d Northam said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCatholic school employers are following the NSW Government\u2019s lead in limiting pay rises to 2.04%, a short-sighted approach that has resulted in the current staffing crisis. Teachers are leaving the profession and graduates are not entering it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IEU has been negotiating a new enterprise agreement for its members in Catholic diocesan schools throughout NSW and the ACT since January, calling on employers to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Pay teachers what they\u2019re worth (an increase of 10% to 15% over two years)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Give support staff a fair deal (pay parity with colleagues in public sector schools)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Let teachers teach \u2013 cut paperwork<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Allow time to plan (two more hours release from face-to-face teaching per week)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 End staff shortages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTeachers are totally exhausted, they can give no more,\u201d said IEUA NSW\/ACT Branch President Chris Wilkinson. \u201cWith the chronic shortage of casuals, teachers and support staff are being asked
to take extra lessons and double classes on top of their teaching load, which takes away precious planning and preparation time. We urge employers to listen to teachers and support staff, hear our voices and pay us what we deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Northam said: \u201cDuring the pandemic, parents and the community realised how vital teachers and support staff are, and just how much work they do. Now we urge employers to Hear Our Voice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contacts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sydney<\/strong> IEUA NSW\/ACT Branch Secretary Mark Northam 0427 667 061 Media<\/strong>: Monica Crouch 0411 645 751; Sue Osborne 0430 220 254 Images:<\/strong> https:\/\/bit.ly\/IEUmediaHOV<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The IEUA NSW\/ACT Branch represents over 32,000 teachers, principals and support staff in Catholic and independent schools, early childhood centres and post-secondary colleges.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Authorised by Mark Northam, Secretary, IEUA NSW\/ACT Branch<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MARCH AND RALLY: FRIDAY 27 MAY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sydney<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 10am Sydney Town Hall square, George\/Bathurst<\/p>\n\n\n\n Streets (march to Polding House on Liverpool St)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Canberra<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 10am Thoroughbred Park, Silks Room, Level 2<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 Randwick Rd, Lyneham<\/p>\n\n\n\n Newcastle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 10am Wickham Park, cnr Maitland Rd & Albert St,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wickham (march to Catholic Schools Office on<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hunter St)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wollongong<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 10am MacCabe Park, Burelli St<\/p>\n\n\n\n (march to Catholic Education Office on Market St)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bathurst<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 10am The Bistro, Paddy\u2019s Hotel, Gilmour St, Kelso<\/p>\n\n\n\n (march to Catholic Education Office on Gilmour St)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dubbo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 10.30am Victoria Park Rotunda, Darling St<\/p>\n\n\n\n (march to Catholic Education Office on Brisbane St)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lennox Head<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 10am Club Lennox,<\/p>\n\n\n\n 10 Stewart St, Lennox Head<\/p>\n\n\n\n Port Macquarie<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 9am Westport Club<\/p>\n\n\n\n 25 Buller St, Port Macquarie<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tamworth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 10am West Tamworth Leagues Club,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ken Chillingworth Rm, 58 Phillip St, West Tamworth<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wagga Wagga<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 10.30am Romano\u2019s Hotel, 81 Fitzmaurice St<\/p>\n\n\n\n (march to Catholic Education Office on Tarcutta St)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" More than 17,000 teachers and support staff in 540 Catholic diocesan schools throughout NSW and the ACT have voted overwhelmingly for the right to take protected industrial action in support of five key claims for their new enterprise agreement. The IEU Executive has endorsed a full-day stop work on Friday 27 May. Rallies will be held throughout … Continue reading “Catholic school staff set to take strike action\u00a0“<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16720"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16721,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16720\/revisions\/16721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Canberra<\/strong> IEUA NSW\/ACT Branch Deputy Secretary Carol Matthews 0418 272 902
Newcastle<\/strong> Therese Fitzgibbon 0427 936 072 Wollongong<\/strong> Pam Smith 0418 297 409<\/p>\n\n\n\n