State Council report - 6 March 2021
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 126 No 3, 9 April 2021, page no.6
The first meeting of QTU State Council of 2021 was held in Brisbane on Saturday 6 March. This was the first meeting with newly-elected QTU President Cresta Richardson presiding.
International Women's Day
QTU Women’s Officer Penny Spalding addressed Council on the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, “Choose to Challenge”, and the gendered violence that many of our members face at work and in the community (delegates are pictured confirming that they do indeed "Choose to Challlenge").
Campaigns
The main focus of Council was the consideration of updated reports on the Workload Reduction and NAPLAN campaigns, with delegates from across the state contributing to discussion and debate.
QTU budget
Newly-elected General Secretary Kate Ruttiman presented the 2021 QTU budget for endorsement, which will deliver a surplus after significant allocations to reserves. This year the QTU will also be making additional investment in the QuEST training program, including courses for members dealing with how human rights legislation impacts upon behaviour management, student code of conduct and student discipline issues, delivered by the Human Rights Commission. Investment will be also be made in two key areas:
- promotion of the professional status of the teaching profession
- developing Union Reps in workplaces.
National issues
Australian Education Union Federal President Correna Haythorpe addressed Council on current issues from a federal perspective. These included the launch of the new Rebuild with TAFE campaign (https://www.rebuildwithtafe.org.au/), which aims to secure additional investment in TAFE to assist in reskilling Australians as we deal with the ongoing economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Correna also advised Council of the imminent launch of the new federal schools funding campaign (see page 13).
Membership
Council also received a report on QTU membership and noted that growth in state school enrolments continue to outstrip those in the non-government sector. This is due in part to the policy of the current state government, which is resulting in the building of new state schools in growth parts of the state. QTU membership now sits above 48,000, with strong net growth of more than 1,000 new members in the past 12 months.
Life members
Life membership nominations were received by the General Secretary from branches across the state. The Awards Committee of the QTU will now consider these, with life membership being conferred at QTU Biennial Conference between June 28-30 this year.