EB10: A framework
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 126 No 7, 8 October 2021, page no.11
Over the life of the current three-year EB agreement, three key themes have arisen when members discuss further improvements to their working conditions.
These key themes have been endorsed by members through the recent workplace meetings on the development of the QTU log of claims. These three key themes, which will provide a framework for EB10, are:
- teaching and learning conditions
- equity
- remuneration.
Teaching and learning conditions
Working conditions for QTU members are teaching and learning conditions in our workplaces. What benefits the working lives of our members invariably improves the learning outcomes of students in state schools.
There are potential opportunities to improve conditions for our members in areas like:
- improved allowances (e.g. on-call, first aid)
- recognition of additional duties
- playground duty reduction
- improved staffing models (e.g. more heads of department (curriculum))
- more release time or student free day time (which doesn’t reduce holidays)
- factors addressing workload and wellbeing across all classifications.
Equity
Improvements to equity and fairness for our members can continue to be a focus, with possible initiatives including:
- improvements to remote area incentive payments
- culturally-appropriate entitlements for First Nations teachers
- improving the paid parental leave entitlement (unchanged since 2008)
- superannuation payments while on unpaid parental leave
- ongoing improvements to part-time salary progression
- recognition of unpaid parental leave (on Commonwealth paid parental leave) for holiday pay.
Remuneration
Over the life of the previous agreement, classroom teachers received a salary increase of 2.5 per cent a year, access to the new experienced senior teacher 2 classification ($110,500), and a one-off payment of $1,250. In addition, the outcomes of the Promotional Positions Classification Review (PPCR) were implemented for members in promotional positions. Unfortunately, all members (like all Queensland public servants) were affected by the government’s public sector wage deferral, which delayed the roll-out of these salary initiatives.
While the ongoing pandemic presents us with a novel challenge in salary bargaining given the significant effects on the state’s income and expenditure, the work of teachers and leaders in schools during this time will also provide us with a narrative of our own. The work of our members in schools has been critical (actually, our members have been ESSENTIAL) in the functioning of our communities and the state’s economy during these challenging times. With this in mind, the QTU will be pursuing fair and reasonable salary increases across the profession.
EB9 started the implementation of the Promotional Positions Classification Review (PPCR) for classified officer positions, and it has always been the intention of the QTU to continue this implementation in EB10. This would include (but not be limited to) reviewing the resource methodology and thresholds for school leaders.