PPCR at the heart of EB9

Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 123 No 7, 5 October 2018, page no. 10

In communications to members, the QTU has been clear that the PPCR is a priority for EB9 as any salary increases that flow from the PPCR will be determined through the enterprise bargaining process. 

Results from the ballots at the recent EB9 workplace meetings have demonstrated the strong support from all of the membership for the PPCR to be a priority in next year’s negotiations.

With the release of the remuneration for highly accomplished and lead teacher classifications it is important to note that the current certified agreement states:
 “5.4.2  Amongst other factors, the review will take account of the impact of the establishment of highly accomplished and lead teacher classifications and their work value assessment.”

However, there should be no illusions that a classification structure that properly rewards principals and others in promotion positions is going to be easily won.  It will disrupt relativities and hierarchies within education, and by extension, with other senior positions across the public service.  The cost of the new structure will be significant because of the numbers of people involved and the level of increases that we believe are justified.

It will depend not so much on the cleverness of negotiators as it will on the willingness of those in promotional positions, together with the whole school membership of the QTU, to prosecute a campaign for pay against whatever the current reason given for why now is not a good time for pay rises for those in promotional positions. 

The review has been gathering information from a variety of sources, including:

• submissions from key external stakeholders and individual submissions
• focus groups
• Deloitte jurisdictional benchmarking
• Mercer work value assessments.

The key themes to emerge from the process so far are listed below.
There are two more distinct stages to go:

• The negotiation of a new classification structure, which is a new and very different stage, leading to a report at the end of 2018
• The negotiation of salary in EB9, which is again a third distinct stage.

 

Key themes

PPCR stakeholder submission themes

• In a future classification structure, stakeholders and staff want:
  • fair and equitable pay reflective of the position’s work value
  • equity and relativity to other positions based on work value
• Community factors (i.e. the background of the students) are the single greatest contributor to the complexity of promotional positions
• Recognition of the difficulty of teaching/small-school principal roles.

 

Focus groups – common themes (50 focus groups held)

• Complexity and accountability
• Remuneration relativity
  • between promotional positions
  • between teachers and promotional positions
• Transfer system/relocation/recruitment processes
• Role descriptions.

 

Deloitte jurisdictional benchmarking (preliminary findings/work in progress)

• Comparisons impacted by the level of flexibility in resourcing as principals can exercise more discretion over duties
• Even in systems with prescriptive resourcing models there are material differences in the teaching load of positions
• Incremental progression system is common, but NSW and SA don’t have increments
• Evidence of only modest differences in remuneration outcomes for similar positions – more significant differences in terms of number of promotional positions.

 

Mercer work value assessments (preliminary findings/work in progress)

• Increasing statutory and reporting requirements
• Increasing performance monitoring
• Increasing expectations by parents
• Increasing incidents of mental health/wellbeing issues
• Complexity factors (socio-economic status, Indigenous students, students with disabilities, EAL/D)

 

Preliminary Mercer interview themes - specific context (work in progress)

• Regional and remote challenged by access to resources and attraction/retention difficulties
• Teaching principals challenged by having to be across everything
• P-10/12 schools challenged by establishing a “one-school” culture
• Schools of distance education challenged by managing student and parent interactions remotely
• Special schools challenged by developing agency partnerships and unique learning programs
• Outdoor education centres challenged to manage cost structures.

To find out more about the PPCR or access the recent PPCR Update, go to www.qtu.asn.au/ppcr

Paige Bousen

Assistant Secretary -Education Leaders