IEU Council endorses Log of Claims, prepares for fight ahead
IEU Reps from across Victorian Catholic education met at a specially convened Victorian Catholic Council on 6 September to consider the IEU’s Draft Log of Claims. After productive and robust debate of 25 amendments, Council emerged with an unanimously endorsed Log of Claims, which will form the IEU’s position at the bargaining table as we negotiate the next Victorian Catholic Agreement.
Sub-branch Reps cast their votes at IEU Council
IEU General Secretary David Brear said spirited, informed discussions ensured the final claims reflect the real needs of staff.
“Reps from around the state discussed, debated, amended and ultimately endorsed the Log of Claims. This is a very important milestone: it gives us a clear position to take to employers, and it shows that we are ready to commence negotiations as soon as we are on a level playing field with a Single Interest Authorisation (SIA) in place.”
David thanked the hard-working Reps who gave up their Saturday morning to attend in person or online, calling their involvement an ‘essential part of our democratic process’. “Thanks also to every IEU Rep and member who has had their say in getting us to this critical juncture.”
Key discussions driven by rank-and-file input included:
Salaries required to be at least equal to Catholic education interstate, not just “competitive”.
Coverage extended to Registered Training Organisations.
Recognition and fair pay for tertiary-qualified Youth Workers.
Improvements for Education Support Staff, including better leave entitlements and reimbursement of relevant employment costs such as Working With Children Checks
Protections for casual relief teachers and deputy principals.
Application of the Teacher Workload Assessment Impact Tool to all major employer-mandated curriculum or pedagogy changes.
Read the full final Log of Claims here.
Read the IEU Log of Claims - Primary Principals
The endorsement of the Log marks a critical step towards securing real improvements for Victorian Catholic sector staff and ramps up pressure on employers refusing to apply for a Single Interest Authorisation (SIA).
An SIA is essential: it grants access to good faith bargaining orders and the right to take industrial action, rights almost every other worker in Australia already enjoys. Employers, with their history of dragging out negotiations, claim they want to bargain now ̶ while staff are denied these rights. In effect, they want staff to negotiate with one hand tied behind their backs.
Under current industrial laws, the Fair Work Commission cannot grant an SIA application made by the IEU until after the current Agreement expires on 31 December. Employers, however, could apply now and get bargaining underway.
Instead of doing the right thing by their own hard-working staff, they are seeking to portray the IEU as the cause of the delays and forcing us to campaign for the right to fair bargaining rules before we can turn our focus to the most important issues - real outcomes for staff in Victorian Catholic education.
Because of this employer stance, the IEU must demonstrate majority support for an SIA from staff members employed by each employer. Unless employers agree to do the right thing, this will be our focus in Term 4: Reps, members, and union staff working together to secure signatures of support, on paper and online.
David said Reps were “incredibly aware” of the importance of a SIA. “It’s fantastic how many members have grasped this situation. Now we need to spread the word about the importance of supporting a SIA to every person who works in a Victorian Catholic school”.
Achieving majority support for a SIA is a major challenge - but one the IEU is ready to meet head-on. Employers trying to weaken or mislead staff underestimate the collective strength of union members. Saturday’s meeting proved once again that when union members co-operate, our power is formidable.
