State Council report: 2 November 2024
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 130 No 1, 14 February 2025, page no 4.
Delegates heard that the QTU was preparing an Education Brief, to be provided to John Paul Langbroek, the new Minister for Education and the Arts. The brief was also being sent to the new Treasurer, David Janetski, and the new Premier, David Crisafulli.
The QTU has requested to meet with the new Education Minister once he has received the Education Brief. Minister Langbroek has also been formally invited to address delegates at March Council.
The QTU reaffirmed its commitment to interest-based bargaining and will be seeking commitments from the new government to this approach.
Union governance
Council endorsed the financial statements for July, August and September and endorsed the draft 2025 budget, which contains a small surplus and will be finalised at March Council. The membership of the QTU grew by 3,300 members in 2024.
The number of members using direct debit to pay their dues fortnightly has increased to more than 8,000. For the Term 4 recruitment campaign, the Union partnered with Union Shopper to give a $50 gift card to new members who joined and opted for fortnightly direct debit.
Social media
The QTU is very aware of the psychosocial harm that can be caused when members are exposed to harmful comments on social media. The QTU will be developing protocols for the use of its social media pages and is budgeting for an additional staff member to monitor social media.
The QTU will further investigate the establishment of a closed social media group for QTU members, with an initial focus on QTU Union Reps and QTU Principal Union Representatives.
Time Use, Time Poverty, Teachers Work research
Professor Greg Thompson from QUT addressed Council regarding the Time Use, Time Poverty, and Teachers' Work research project. Several researchers from QUT, UniNSW and the University of Sydney have partnered with state school teachers, school leaders and the QTU to investigate the impact of teacher work complexity and intensification.
Professor Thomson spoke about the findings of the research, including that members had reported a multi-tasking of multi-tasks, forcing them to triage and prioritise tasks and then re-prioritise those tasks during the school day as other demands presented themselves. The full report is on the QTU website.
Occupational violence and aggression (OVA)
Delegates called on the state government to continue the “No Excuse for School Abuse” campaign to ensure that OVA is not tolerated in any form in Queensland’s schools. Council endorsed the inclusion of sexual harassment as a form of OVA and called on the QTU to launch campaign action targeting a reduction of gendered violence in schools.
Council also called on the state government to amend the Criminal Code as a matter of urgency to make it an offence to assault workers in Queensland state schools.
CROSR
After almost two years, a report on the Comprehensive Review of School Resourcing was due to go to the Minister for Education in December 2024.
The QTU wants the review of the allocative model to be a bespoke Queensland model that recognises and resources the complexity of schools. We need an agile, needs-based school resourcing model that enshrines industrial agreements and provides clarity and equity for the full range of diverse schools.
The current model is underfunded, and the current “Investing for Success” (I4S) funding agreement ceases at end of 2025.
If the report is supported by the Minister, it will go to Cabinet and then Treasury, after which a detailed consultation process would be undertaken. The QTU will continue to hold the department to account for the proper resourcing of schools.
TAFE
The Acting TAFE Organiser spoke of the many cases currently in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission in which the Union was fighting for justice for TAFE members. One of these saw a win for a member that resulted in a significant financial payout. The Union is acting for the "east coast plumbing team", a group of ten members who embody the values of being professional courageous, democratic, and united. QTU membership in TAFE has increased because of Union advocacy.