QTU members vote to accept EB10 offer
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 127 No 6, 12 August 2022, page no. 8
The EB10 ballot saw more than 20,000 members cast a valid vote, with more than 84 per cent of them voting to accept the offer.
The ballot outcome was reported to delegates at QTU State Council on 30 July. On the basis of members’ decision, State Council resolved to accept the EB10 offer
Council also called on QTU officers to work with the Department of Education on drafting the agreement expeditiously, so the government can have it certified and the salary increases, additional incentives and improved working conditions can be implemented.
EB10 - What happens next?
The QTU and the department will work to finalise the drafting of the agreement, and the department will conduct an employer ballot in the coming weeks.
Once the employer ballot has been finalised, the agreement can be certified by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC). This will enable the 1 July increase to be back-paid and the other initiatives in the offer to become part of the working conditions of members.
Key elements of the offer
Salaries and the cost of living
Wages and existing allowances (normally adjusted in accordance with wage increases) will increase as follows: 4 per cent payable from 1 July 2022; 4 per cent payable from 1 July 2023; and 3 per cent payable from 1 July 2024. These increases will result in Queensland beginning teachers and ESTs becoming the highest paid in the country.
Additionally, the salaries for HoPs, DPs and school leaders are within the highest salary range.
In addition, in each year of the agreement, if annual inflation exceeds the base wage increase, a one-off lump sum cost of living adjustment (COLA) payment equal to the difference between the CPI increase and the base wage increase (up to 3 per cent) will be paid to all employees at the end of that year of the agreement.
Workload, wellbeing and health and safety
The department has committed to a review of the duties associated with all teaching roles within a school. We cannot address workload and wellbeing if we do not remove the things we do that are additional to our roles. Clarity about what the core duties of planning, teaching, assessing, reporting and developing look like for teachers, heads of program and school leaders helps direct resourcing to these things, rather than continuing to expect the profession to do more with the same types of resourcing. While there has previously been some adjustment to the allocative methodology to accommodate changes, this is the first review of its kind in more than 30 years.
Details of how the review will be structured and how members can be involved in the review will be communicated to members once the agreement has been certified.
Attraction and retention for rural and remote Queensland
In addition to improvements to the RoRRS (Recognition of Rural and Remote Service) scheme – formerly the Remote Area Incentive Scheme (RAIS), the department is to undertake a comprehensive review of the transfer rating system, to modernise it and address current challenges. The review is to be completed and presented to the Minister for Education by no later than 31 December 2024. The policy will consider both classroom and promotional teaching appointments.
$900 recognition of service payments per year are now available for regional transfer rating 2 (TR2) and transfer rating 3 (TR3) schools (payment subject to Director-General approval where there is evidence of attraction and retention issues).
Resourcing schools for 21st Century schooling
The department is to undertake a comprehensive review of school resourcing arrangements, including methodologies, procedures and systems, to examine the appropriate resourcing arrangements to support schools to meet the needs of 21st Century education.
The review will also lead to a review of resourcing thresholds contained in the classification structure. In recognition of the current limitations of the thresholds for primary principals, the agreement will provide an interim measure enabling primary school leaders in schools with enrolments greater than 1,100 to apply for a reclassification based on the complexities and circumstances of their school.
Reconciliation – Initiatives for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members
The community teacher classification is to be restructured, including replacing the current seven-step pay point structure with a higher-paid four-step structure, and introducing a “senior community teacher” level.
Access to three days paid special leave per year will be made available for kinship or sorry business.
The new three-year agreement will commence from 1 July 2022 – 1 July 2025.
Progress in the acceptance of EB10 negotiations and the acceptance of the offer has only been possible through the commitment of Union Reps and QTU members, who held workplace meetings, checked in on members to see if they had voted, contacted their local MPs, participated in MP delegations, and sent emails to the Premier.
The EB10 offer made by the State government reflects the Union’s clear position that QTU members deserve more than praise for the work that they do every day for their students. Members should be thanked for their activism and engagement, which has led to a significant outcome. Queensland teachers will be the highest paid in the country, new teachers will be attracted to the profession, and incentives for teachers working in rural and remote areas will be improved.
See www.qtu.asn.au/EB10 for more details.