EDUCATION SUPPORTSUPPLEMENT TO THE AEU NEWS • MARCH 2013NEWSLETTERES issues on the agendaSupport from ES members has been instrumental as we work towards a single agreement for all school employees.

Meredith Peace AEU branch president

EDUCATION support staff members have been an integral part of our schools campaign. Having ES,

teachers and principals fighting side-by-side for their rights has strengthened our fight. Congratulations to you for the commitment you have shown.

Negotiations have been continuing since late January. They have centred on teachers and principals in the first instance, but please be assured this does not mean that ES issues are being pushed aside.

Many of the teacher issues discussed are identical for ES and if we are able to make gains in areas such as salaries and contract employment for teachers, these will flow on to ES.

In addition, we have formed a working party to

ensure ES-specific issues are being progressed in parallel to the negotiations.

We still aim to achieve a single agreement that brings the salaries and conditions for ES, teachers and princi-pals into one document. We believe this simply reflects the way we work in our schools — teachers, ES and principals all supporting each other, working together as a team to achieve the best outcomes for students.

This sentiment is clearly reflected in our ever-increasing ES membership. We started our last agreement negotiations with 2,500 members. Today that number has risen to just under 8,000, with a growth of 1,200 since our last ES newsletter.

That is a fantastic commitment from you all and shows your desire to join your colleagues in standing up for public education.

We know that teachers have fought long and hard over many years to achieve what they have and our ES members are now realising their strength and the collective benefits of unity in a long running dispute such as this.

As we go to print we have seen some positive signs from the new Premier over performance pay for teachers and principals. But the fight is not over — we still have much work to do, to see if the Government is prepared to make a fair and reasonable offer.

At this critical time we must continue to campaign strongly and keep the pressure on the Government so that we can achieve the single agreement we have all been fighting for. �

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Working party explores new DIMENSIONSErin Aulich vice president secondary

THE AEU has formed a working party with other unions representing ES staff to discuss the ES

dimensions of work. We have now met three times and are making progress.

Our ES network meetings have been invaluable in helping us to develop a position on the real bounda-ries and issues that our education support members face. The working party has been able to draw on those issues in their discussions. Network meetings have also allowed your elected ES councillors to have informed discussions before our council meetings and to share information with the AEU’s agreement negotiating team.

There are so many active and intense AEU

campaigns — the EBA, the Gonski review of school funding and our TAFE4All campaign among them — that it is important that ES members know what is going on. All of them affect ES members and our students in one way of another.

The best way to stay informed is to attend an AEU event, such as a regional meeting, network meeting, or twilight conference.

Alternatively, you can also call the AEU and ask to speak to an organiser, or invite one out to a sub-branch meeting.

Protocols prevent us from reporting in writing what is happening at negotiations — but we can give you full details at any of our events or meetings. �

EBA

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2 ES newsletter | march 2013

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Business managers’ dinner conferenceANDREW Dick from RTK Resolutions will run workshops on “style awareness and interpersonal

dynamics,” exploring the very human side of business managers’ work at our three business manager dinner conferences this year. His presentation will focus on how people work together, how we can work to our strengths as individuals and as teams, and create a more positive workplace.

The dinner conferences offer school business managers high-quality professional development and the opportunity to raise their work concerns with their union.

This year’s conferences are at Pakenham (April 23), Sunshine (May 28) and Mordialloc (November 19). Book your place online at www.aeuvic.asn.au/calendar. �

GET ACTIVE in 2013LEARN more about how your union works for you by attending an AEU Active

training course. They help you understand staff entitlements and how they can be implemented in your school.

Understanding the agreement gives you confidence in applying it. Our training program provides participants with a better understanding of many workplace issues from a range of different perspectives.

AEU Active training courses are for teachers and ES staff. It helps if both parties are aware of conditions of employment in each other’s sectors. It is vital that teachers and ES staff are united in sub-branches.

Find a training date that suits you on the AEU website AEU Active page at www.aeuvic.asn.au/active. �

Stay in the LOOPThere are many ways to keep up to date on AEU campaigns and ES issues.

ES Networks There are now 10 ES networks in the state. They are informal gatherings that allow members to discuss day-to-day issues, although the topic of most interest at the moment is the EBA negotiations.

Give us a call if you’d like us to help you set up a network in your area. Regional meetingsA regional AEU meeting is held every term. Updates on AEU campaigns are delivered at these meetings, which are also a good place to network and share information. It would be great to see more ES members at these meetings. AEU school visitsAEU organisers visit schools on request to report on the current EBA negotiations. Update your detailsChanged job? Changed address? Changed time fraction? Don’t forget to let us know — it could affect your membership rates, and up-to-date contact details are essential if you are to stay in the loop for our EBA campaign.

Have you been receiving our new EBA Weekly Wrap each Friday? If not, we probably don’t have your email address.

Update your details at www.aeuvic.asn.au/update. �

www.aeuvic.asn.au 3

ES staff paying for school FUNDING CUTSSupport positions squeezed as principals look for savings.

Kathryn Lewis ES organiser

THE State Government’s savage cuts to state education funding in the past two budgets are starting to affect ES staff. As principals and business managers look for more and more savings, ES hours are being reduced, contracts are

not being readvertised and remaining ES staff are being loaded with more work and responsibilities. Some ES report that they are being demoted to save money and have been asked to pay for their own first-aid

training, which in some cases amount to hundreds of dollars. ES members must remain alert to possible insidious consequences of reduced funding to schools. ES members — not to mention the nation — would benefit enormously from the implementation of David

Gonski’s school funding recommendations which would see much more money going to state schools because they serve the majority of disadvantaged students.

Please register your support for the Gonski recommendations at igiveagonski.com.au and email your local federal and state MPs telling them you want better funded state schools.

This opportunity to introduce a fairer school funding system must be acted on immediately. A Tony Abbott-led Coalition says it will stick with the existing funding system that pumps millions into private schools should it

win the September federal election. That would only make life tighter still for our ES members. �

New members start here…How did we get here? A recap of EBA negotiations so far.

IT’S two years since the ES log of claims went to the Government and it still refuses to acknowledge the importance of ES staff and their poor pay and conditions. Indeed, it took months to deliver a response that offered only to reduce ES entitlements.

It was insulting and indicative of a limited understanding of ES work. That’s one reason ES membership has grown by 5000 since we negotiated our last agreement in 2008.

For those new to the union, these negotiations are historic in many ways. ES and teaching staff at present have separate agreements with the Government. But for the first time, AEU ES and teacher and principal members drew up their claims for new agreements in tandem — a process that took months and involved member meetings across the state.

Now we are taking industrial action in pursuit of those claims together and are negotiating for those two agreements to be replaced by single deal covering all school staff employed by the Education Department.

The decision to work with teachers in developing a log of claims was driven by the need for improvements in the working conditions of both groups and a belief that a united front would benefit both parties.

Our ES log seeks significant improvements for ES in terms of increased pay and non-attendance during school holidays.Other claims for ES staff include: minimum hours of work per day; preparation time; removal of school-year employ-

ment; paid lunch breaks; paid time to access eduPay; improved time-in-lieu arrangements; extra staffing entitlements; continuous pay between contracts; fewer 12-month contracts and more longer contracts; 12-week redeployment notice to exclude school holidays; all vacancies advertised; more ongoing positions and improved monitoring of Recruitment Online; recognition of workload implications of new department initiative; reasonable work spaces; laptop computers for all ES; improved leave entitlements and increased allowances.

You can read the log of claims at www.aeuvic.asn.au/eba-background. �

— Kathryn Lewis ES organiser

4 ES newsletter | march 2013

38 hours is not enoughErin Aulich vice president, secondary

FEW, if any, ES staff can do what they are supposed to do within their official hours. So many start early, finish late, work through breaks

and take work home.The 38-hour ban is not easy to implement but it has been very

effective in highlighting the extent of unpaid work in schools. It demonstrates that schools do not function properly or effectively when staff work only the hours they are paid for. The Government does not acknowledge the good will and commitment demonstrated by most school staff.

Business manager members are among the ES staff who have found it very difficult to do all that is required of them during the week. Many have asked their principals to help decide which jobs will have to be set aside to meet the 38-hour ban. The ban also prevents attend-ance at school council meetings. We encourage business managers and principals to seek the support of school councils by asking them to write to the State Government urging it to quickly reach a settlement with its employees.

Please help our campaign by emailing your local MP and the Premier, Denis Napthine, to insist that the Government get serious about settling its pay and condition negotiations with teachers and ES staff. You can send an email direct from our campaign website, keepthepromise.com.au. �

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Come inside the AEUA one-week immersion program at the AEU gives

ES participants an insight into how the AEU works and how they can become more involved in their union.

Participants work with AEU leaders and organisers, join AEU meetings and school visits and

spend time with the AEU’s membership services unit. Staff replacement costs are covered.

You must be an ES member of the AEU to apply for the program.

The next immersion program will be held from September 9–13 at AEU Abbotsford.

For more information email kathryn.lewis@aeuvic.asn.au or call (03) 9417 2822. �

Women’s Conference May 25AEU Women’s Conference is one of the major

events of the union’s year, with a focus on women’s issues in Australia and around the globe, and a full range of workshops aimed at women’s personal and professional development.

This year’s event takes place on Saturday May 25, at the AEU office, Abbotsford.

This conference is a great opportunity for ES members to get together for some PD and enjoy each other’s company at the same time. Why not

make a day of it, either by starting early with brekkie or finishing the day with dinner afterwards?

You can book your place at the conference at www.aeuvic.asn.au/calendar. �