Women's e-news - Term 3, 2019

Women's e-news - Term 3, 2019

EB9 – offer

By now hopefully you are all aware of the EB9 offer made by the Queensland Government on Friday 28 June and the ballot of the membership that is currently underway.

There is a suite of resources on the QTU website to assist QTU Reps and members in unpacking the offer and running the ballot at their workplace.

You can find them here.

Gender employment equity

Gender employment equity was a key element of this EB campaign, and the offer provides some significant gains in this area.  A guide to unpacking the gender equity elements of the offer can be found here.

Here is a snapshot.

• Paid parental leave 14 weeks) can be accessed by the primary care giver of a newborn child, not just the birth mother.  This is a great step forward for families (in the past I have dealt directly with dads who were primary carers yet were unable to access this paid leave).  The paid parental leave can be shared between parents if they are both teachers.
• Part-time teachers will move up the salary banding on an annual basis, and will no long have to complete 200 days (1,000 hours) of rostered duty time (full-time equivalent) in order to move up a salary band. Previously, a teacher working 0.5 FTE would need to work two years to move up one step.  This is a significant gain for the 20 per cent of our members who work part-time, many of them because of care arrangements.  This will see many women reaching senior teacher and EST in a more timely and equitable way.
• The securing of extended special leave for family responsibility in a joint statement.  This leave type has existed for some time, however the intent and purpose needed to be re-established with the department due to the misunderstandings that arose when members needed to access it to care for family other than young children. The securing of this leave type outside of policy is an important provision for our members.
• Having access to the temp to perm conversion process after two years of service, rather than the current three.
• The establishment of an Equity Commissioner in the Public Service Commission to ensure future provisions and conditions are reviewed with an equity lens.
   

As the Women’s Officer of our Union, I am exceptionally proud that gender employment equity was one of the four priority areas of our claim.  I am excited at the important gains for women in this offer and that Executive and our State Conference has formally recommended that we accept this offer. 

QTU Biennial Conference

Rank and file members of each branch of the Union gathered in the first three days of the winter vacation for the QTU Biennial Conference.  The Women, Teachers and Girls’ Education Committee proudly hosted the Women’s Luncheon on the second day, and this year our guest speaker was Clementine Ford.  

Clementine’s presentation was a powerful call to action for us on the topic of gendered violence towards teachers, and the need for further support for teachers who face the product of toxic masculinity and engrained systemic misogyny when behaviour from students is disrespectful and harassing in nature. 

Clementine wrote an article on this topic that was published in The Saturday Paper in late March, you can access it here. 

(L to R:  Lynn Cowie-McAlister, Genevieve Pearson, Kim Roy, Clementine Ford, Louise Loriaux, Rachel Bos and Kelly Creedon)

The National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces 

The National Inquiry was undertaken by the Australian Human Rights Commission, has released further submissions.  You can sign up for updates, the most recent of which can be found here.

Childcare claims available for Union meetings

We know that attending Union functions and meetings can sometimes be tricky when you are a parent.  Did you know you are able to claim the cost of childcare if you need to access care to attend Union events?  Ask your local QTU Organiser or ring QTAD for more information.   

Department’s Teaching Junior Secondary program - register your interest

A new, self-directed professional development opportunity has been designed to support teachers wishing to transition to junior secondary teaching in Queensland state schools.

The expression of interest closing date for this program has been extended to Friday 26 July.

Applicants must:

• be a teacher working in a Queensland state school
• have permission from their principal to participate in the program.
   

An additional support package is available to eligible applicants (conditions apply).

We encourage applicants to register their interest online by no later than Friday 26 July.

You can learn more about the Teaching Junior Secondary program on the department’s website or by contacting the Learning and Professional Development team on LearningandPD.HUMANRES@qed.qld.gov.au or (07) 3055 2617.

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