No. 8-23, 09 August 2023 | Open PDF 

TO: QTU MEMBERS

TAFE protected industrial action

The QTU’s TAFE Division members have voted overwhelmingly to take protected industrial action tomorrow after an inadequate offer was made.

On 28 June, TAFE Queensland provided a formal offer in response to the QTU’s log of claims that did not sufficiently address the threshold matters that could trigger protected industrial action. These threshold matters, as identified in the ballot for protected industrial action, include:

1. salaries that reduce cost of living pressures across the life of a replacement agreement and that begin to restore parity with state school teachers
2. measures to mitigate increasing workload
3. new industrial definitions and fit-for-purpose working conditions for online, virtual, hybrid, and blended modes of delivery
4. recognition of the Queensland Government’s Employment Security Policy
5. applying the four-fifths rule to full-time educators with an approved flexible working arrangement.

QTU TAFE Division members will stop work for two hours on Thursday 10 August to hear an update on negotiations and to determine further industrial action as required.

QTU Members in the school sector can show their solidarity with TAFE members by sending messages of solidarity to TAFE@qtu.asn.au

Teacher shortages

The QTU has regularly emphasised the need to consider a range of matters to address the attraction and retention of teachers to Queensland. The national teacher shortage has been felt particularly sharply in Queensland’s state schools, with those schools in rural, remote and regional locations, as well as those in hard-to-staff areas, dealing with the implications and challenges of this shortage, on a daily basis. This shortage has negatively impacted the industrial and professional conditions under which our members are employed.

The QTU has worked closely with the department on a range of matters to address the unintended consequences of the teacher shortage in Queensland. This has included payments for beginning teachers working in remote locations, improvements to non-contact time for beginning teachers, mentoring and beginning teacher resourcing and the negotiation of the conditions related to the ‘Turn to Teaching’ (TTT) internship program, among other matters.

The QTU is aware of a government proposal to provide access to paid leave to teacher aides (TAs) who are studying to become teachers for the period that they are undertaking their professional experience (PEx) component of their studies. While the QTU is very supportive of the announcement to assist TAs to access this type of leave, we will be seeking payment for the more than 600 teachers currently working under a ‘Permission to Teach’ registration agreement across Queensland, many of whom are employed within state schools, who do not have access to any type of paid leave when they undertake PEx as part of their study commitments. We will be actively pursuing this with the department.

​​​​​​Further to the matter of teacher shortages, the QTU is requesting data from the department on the numbers of TAs who are currently studying teaching, as well as the number of PTT registered teachers working across the state system. In addition, we are seeking data on the shortage of teachers per region, sector, and subject/year level.

Members are encouraged to fill teacher absences with supply and contract teachers, where these are readily available, and, if at all possible, to not allow oversized or combined classes. We understand the many pressures that school leaders, heads of program and teachers face, particularly in regional, rural and remote areas, in ensuring that staffing needs are met and that quality education is delivered to students in our great schools across the state.

Retention payments for selected TR2 and TR3 schools

The Teachers’ Certified Agreement 2022 contained a regional attraction and retention payment of $900 per annum, while the teacher remains at the school. The payment is fixed for the life of the agreement. The QTU was successful in achieving a retention payment for teachers working in 53 TR2 and TR3 schools, which was paid on 27 June 2023.

Unfortunately, school leaders and heads of program did not receive this payment. It is the clear view of the QTU that all teachers, inclusive of school leaders and heads of program, should be recipients of the $900 payment.  Not only are teachers difficult to attract and retain in these targeted areas, but school leaders and heads of program also fall into this difficult to staff category. 

A formal dispute was commenced with the department after the failure to reach agreement with the Director General in relation to the scope of the retention payment.  The next stage will be a stage 3 dispute.  Should resolution not occur at the next step, the final stage is a dispute in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission.

Attraction payment still to be negotiated

In order to progress the next stage of the negotiations for the attraction part of the payment, the QTU provided a number of factors to the department which needed to be addressed.  As such, the threshold position for receiving the attraction payment (automatic receipt of payment) must include the following points:

• the school is eligible for rapid response assistance
• accumulation of staffing credits
• vacancy rating data used by the department (7-point system with both critical level 7 and level 6) to be automatically entitled to the payment.

Schools which do not fall into the above categories will then be addressed at the meeting, which is held on a region-by-region basis, by the “Eligibility Review Committee.” Additional matters to be discussed at the Eligibility Review Committee include:

​​​​​​the number of vacancies compared to the allocative methodology

• when and the length of time relating to the vacancies
• three or more ongoing vacancies depending on the size of the school
• the number of Stream 2 and Stream 3 teachers (i.e. Heads of Programs and School Leaders) placed permanently on a timetable
• the number of Stream 2 and Stream 3 teachers (i.e. Heads of Programs and School Leaders) acting as substitute teachers
• the number of specialist services/specialists in primary settings being used to back fill rather than deliver their program
• the views of HR and organiser.  
• the vacancy rating data – level 4 and 5 to be discussed. 

The Central Queensland area (where Dan Coxen is the QTU organiser) is the area recommended by the QTU for the initial Eligibility Review Committee discussion. Members will be kept informed of the progress of the regional attraction and retention payments.

Kate Ruttiman

General Secretary

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