Educators in Catholic schools across Victoria staged school-gate actions on Friday 29 May, campaigning for improved pay, conditions and access to fair bargaining.

Check out our live reporting from the Day of Action here.

It brought sub-branches together from Wodonga to Wantirna South, from Drysdale, to Mildura, members wearing black, displaying signs and speaking with parents and the wider school community.

It also unleashed IEU unpredictable creativity! At St Laurence O’Toole Primary School in Leongatha, Rep Margaret Gatehouse dressed as a coffee cup (made from a rubbish bin), emblazoned with a QR code linking to the parent petition for fair bargaining rights. Members handed out coffees in cups carrying the same QR code, with leftover cups set to be distributed at a local football game over the weekend to further spread the campaign message.

At 8am, IEU General Secretary David Brear addressed the joint rally of Our Lady of Mercy College and St John’s School, Heidelberg, saying, “We're here to send a message to the 34 Catholic employers across Victorian Catholic education and the message is: we won't be settling for a second rate deal”.

“The employer has our Log of Claims. So far, of the 113 claims we have put forward for much needed improvements, the employers have said no to 100 of them.

“So I just think it's really important for days like today the employers know this is going on. They're going to see you out here loud and proud today. It's really important that people get together in their union.

“It's not just about us. It's about everyone who works in our schools. It's also about the next generation of people who come into schools. We deeply care about education. We deeply care about Catholic education, and we know that we need good wages and conditions for the job to be sustainable and that's really what this is all about.”

IEU Day of Action!

The Border Mail reported on the action taken by members at Catholic College Wodonga.

Rep Adam Burt was quoted saying that union members at Catholic College were lucky to have not only a strong union presence, but the support of the college itself.

"The college has been fantastic in that, us gathering here today... I don't feel the school's opposed to this, which is really good that we're able to work together," he said.

"And I certainly see it as both a teacher here and as a union rep as being more of a sort of a hierarchical issue with the employers at a state level, rather than with the school."

Catholic College Wodonga members lined up their cars in their foggy school car park from 7.30am, with liquid chalk messages on their windows seeking fair pay, working conditions and bargaining rights.

IEU stalwart Lisa Mason explained that teachers at Victorian Catholic schools are the only ones "in all of Australia that don't have the right to protected industrial action".

"This is all we can do, because we don't have the right to strike, like government schools can," the former sub-branch representative said.

"We can only wear our logos and do this before school starts, because once it turns 8.30am, we'll be in trouble if we are still doing this here."

*Front page news: Wodonga Catholic College leads the Border Mail site.*

The Riverine Herald reported on actions at St Joseph’s College, Echuca under the headline “Catholic teachers taking a stand at the school gate”.

“The fences at St Joseph’s Echuca will be lined with black on Friday, May 29 — not for a protest, but for a plea,” the article said.

The report highlighted growing frustration among Catholic educators over stalled bargaining and the lack of access to industrial action under Victoria’s multi-employer bargaining arrangements.

“Victoria is the only state in Australia where Catholic union members are excluded from the benefits of a single interest agreement,” the article noted.

IEU representative and St Joseph’s teacher Jerrod Davison said staff wanted parents to understand their concerns.

“We want the parent community to understand that we don't feel like we're being given the just hearing in our bargaining,” he said.

At Killester College, Springvale, members held a rally focused on the right to strike and single interest bargaining.

Rep Chris Ruys said Catholic educators were denied rights available to most other workers.

“We don’t have the right to strike… every other teacher in the country, most workers have,” he said.

“Our employers don’t want to give us the right to strike because they don’t want us to have any sort of bargaining strength. And we need that strength to fight for better conditions and pay.”

First-year graduate Thomas Schofield said he joined the action because “we deserve the right for industrial action; we deserve the right to strike”.

“Just getting the opportunity to fight for better conditions and better pay is something I want to be part of,” he said.

Education support staff member Kylie Lorimer added: “We want fair pay and fair conditions from our employer and we deserve the right to strike.”

At St Ignatius College, Drysdale, co-delegate Jaymi O’Connor acknowledged the role played by AEU members in the state sector.

“It’s important for us to acknowledge the work of our colleagues in the AEU that have taken action when we haven't been able to,” she said.

“We are also appreciative of parents and our wider school community in their support of teachers and education support staff to be able to achieve better working conditions so we can provide the best learning experiences for our students.”

Members at the school reported “lots of toots of support” from passing buses and cars.

Morning teas at other schools emphasised that staff want fair bargaining rights, prompt action on wages and improvement, not backward steps, on working conditions.

Summing up why the Day of Action had been organised, and why so many members responded so strongly, David said the union “needed employers to understand that IEU members are united”.

“We are not going away. We are not settling for less than what staff deserve.”

He called on employers to heed the actions of IEU members.

“Enough delays. Enough refusing to deal properly with the claims members have made.

“We need fair bargaining rights. We need improved working conditions. We need salaries that recognise the value of our work. We need workload protections that actually make a difference.”