QTU members' newsflash No. 29-20, 25 June 2020 | DOWNLOAD PDF

To QTU Members

End of Term 2

End of Term 2 – a term like no other

As we start school holidays on Friday it’s a good opportunity to reflect on the term that we have had – and it is a term like no other.

Starting the term with all students learning at home following a week of student free days in which members redesigned delivery to meet the needs of their students in the COVID environment, to week 6 when all students returned to school and TAFE and week nine when the government legislated the pay freeze.

Members have worked harder than ever to provide the best learning opportunities for students as well as safe and healthy workplaces.

Your hard work and commitment to the students you teach and each other has not gone unnoticed and as you head off on a well-deserved break we look forward to working with you in term 3 as we continue to work toward achieving the QTU’s number 1 priority of workload reduction and respond to the state government’s pay freeze.

QTU member ballot briefings – responding to the pay freeze

As previous advice outlined (Members Newsflash 26-20 and 27-20), a ballot of QTU members will be conducted in the second week of Term 3 in response to the state government’s decision to freeze teacher, school leader and TAFE educator pay by legislating changes to existing certified agreements.

To ensure that you have your say on the QTU’s response, please check that your contact details are up-to-date and that you are financial. To do this, log in to MyQTU.

If you have a colleague who is not a member of the QTU and they want to be part of the campaign, you can invite them to join and participate in the ballot here.

We are proposing three questions, centered around the following responses:

1. agreeing with or opposing the pay freeze
2. a 24-hour strike to protest the freeze
3. action to escalate workload reduction.
    

The QTU provided initial information about why the decision of the government to legislate was unconscionable in Newsflash No. 27-20 on 19 June.

To ensure members are fully briefed before the ballot commences, the QTU will be conducting online briefings across the state via Zoom, from Tuesday 14 to Thursday 16 July (Week 1, Term 3).

Information will also be available on the QTU website before the ballot takes place between 20 and 25 July.

Members will receive a direct email with RSVP details for scheduled briefings of members in their part of the state. Upon receipt of RSVPs, links to join selected briefings will be emailed to members directly.

Scheduled briefing dates and times, listed below:

 Authorised by Kate Ruttiman, General Secretary, Queensland Teachers' Union
21 Graham Street, Milton, QLD, Australia, 4064