Progress at the Certified Agreement Implementation Committee (CAIC)
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 128 , 21 July 2023, page no.8
The parties have finalised several matters since the last meeting of the CAIC, including the CAIC terms of reference, the agreed template for the memorandums of agreement, and the payment of the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which was formally announced by Treasury.
A lump-sum COLA payment is provided for each year of the certified agreement, subject to certain requirements being met. The department has advised that a COLA payment (3 per cent of base salary) will be paid for the first year of the Department of Education State School Teachers’ Certified Agreement 2022. This payment will be made in a usual pay cycle by the end of August. Further information regarding the actual pay fortnight will be provided by the department when available.
Attraction and retention payment - TR2 and TR3 schools
Initial attraction and retention payments have been made to teachers in 53 schools. There is an ongoing dispute between the parties in relation to initial payment and the eligibility of heads of program and school leaders.
The department has committed to establishing an “eligibility review committee”, which will have nominated representatives from both the department and the QTU. Backpay will be paid to those identified by this committee.
There are several issues around the potential criteria to be used by the eligibility review committee.
- The timing of the vacancies needs to be considered. Clearly, the commencement of the school year is one factor, however numbers are down in schools on a term-by-term basis.
- The cost of the Flying Squad compared to the cost of an expansion of the vacancy driven incentive needs to be strongly considered as a factor within the vacancy review.
- The vacancies need to be based on the current allocative methodology, rather than an Investing for Success (I4S)-driven vacancy rate.
- Members in promotional positions need to actively seek TRS to fill vacancies, rather than filling the gaps within the teaching cohort. This will also ensure that members receive their release time in accordance with their entitlements and provide a clear picture of the actual vacancies within a school.
Primary schools with more than 1,100 enrolments
Clause 5.9.5 (a) of the Department of Education State School Teachers’ Certified Agreement 2022 states: “The Chief Executive may engage a principal at a different classification level for a special purpose as determined by the Chief Executive.
(a) As an interim measure pending the outcomes of the review of state school resourcing arrangements: (i) primary school principals with student enrolments greater than 1,100, may, in exceptional circumstances be engaged for an appointment to a higher level (i.e. Level 8 or Level 9).”
The QTU has met with the department three times to progress this matter, and as a result, there was a discussion of exceptional circumstances at the Evaluation Review Committee (ERC) meeting on 22 June. This matter was discussed at length, with the QTU outlining specific representations relating to the parameters that may influence the department on what constitutes “exceptional circumstances”. The QTU advocacy centred around the fact that all primary schools at or above 1,100 enrolments should be considered “an exceptional circumstance”. The department has taken on board the feedback from the QTU and provided a positive response in terms of moving this matter forward. QTU advocacy will continue to progress this matter and further updates will be provided to members.