ELIOCS Teachers Fired Up

V9N4 - August 2019

A large group of ELICOS (English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students) teachers from 13 different English Language Colleges joined reps at Victorian Council on 10 August.

Teachers gave up their Saturday morning to come together to learn about key rights and entitlements and to workshop plans to transform the ELICOS sector into one where they are respected, paid decent rates and organised to negotiate Enterprise Bargaining Agreements.

It was shocking to learn about some of the issues ELICOS teachers face, including wage theft, underpayment of superannuation, insecure casual work, sham contracting, unpaid additional work, sexual harassment claims brushed under the carpet, and incorrect classifications based on a refusal  to recognise prior service.

We were inspired by the determination of those present to create change in their workplaces and across the sector. Attendees committed to following through on  actions including:

• Talking one-on-one with other teachers about their issues & asking others to join the IEU
• Creating and sharing information and resources on ELICOS issues
• Setting up meetings of potential members & inviting ELICOS reps or the IEU Organiser
• Joining and being active on the new ‘Organise ELICOS’ Facebook page
• Organising ELICOS industry  wide events.

Contact the IEU office if you work in the ELICOS sector or would like more information!