Momentum builds as IEU members drive fair bargaining in Catholic schools
IEU members in Victorian Catholic education have made extraordinary efforts in the campaign for fair bargaining rights, with the focus now on achieving majority support for single interest bargaining at the remaining employers, including Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS), the largest employer in the sector.
The union has already won majority support at 28 of 34 employers and applied for a single interest authorization (SIA) from the Fair Work Commission. The next big step is to add MACS (which employs close to 17,000 staff) as well as CESL and DOBCEL to the list of employers with a majority of staff seeking an SIA.
Following the rejection of the employer’s so-called offer by staff, bargaining under an SIA is the only realistic path forward, and the union is calling on employees at the remaining employers to sign a Statement of Support (SOS) for an SIA so that negotiations can proceed with full and fair bargaining rights for staff.
IEU Victoria Tasmania General Secretary David Brear said, “Thanks to your hard work, conversations and determination, more than 15,000 of your colleagues across the state have now signed a Statement of Support (SOS) for an SIA, a powerful endorsement of our shared commitment to real improvements in pay, workload and wellbeing”.
A successful SIA application to the Fair Work Commission would allow Catholic education staff access to good faith bargaining orders and the right to apply for protected industrial action – essential tools that are currently denied by employers refusing to submit to the SIA process.
By contrast, only around a third of staff supported the employers’ recent so-called offer, despite an intensive employer-backed campaign Despite VCEA pushing staff to accept a short-term bonus, staff across Victoria rejected this attempt to side-step legitimate bargaining and addressing workload improvements, occupational violence issues and improved recognition of education support staff.
“The message from Catholic education staff is clear: we deserve better,” David said.
Growing support across dioceses
Momentum for the SIA continues to build. In recent weeks, the IEU has added more employers to the application, including Siena College, Loreto Mandeville Hall, MacKillop Family Services and Catholic College Sale.
“We’re now focusing on the remaining schools and dioceses to confirm majority support there,” Brear said. “Statements of Support from the Melbourne, Ballarat and Sandhurst dioceses are growing every day, and we’re working closely with members at these workplaces to reach the final numbers needed.”
“This campaign continues to be built on conversations with members, one at a time, and the results speak for themselves.”
Over the coming weeks, IEU staff will continue assisting Reps and members to gather Statements of Support, add remaining schools and dioceses to the application, and press for interim pay improvements while negotiations begin.
Three simple asks
Following the employer survey results, the IEU wrote to the VCEA with three key requests:
1. Listen to staff and consent to bargaining under an SIA.
2. Pay a 7% wage increase from the start of 2026 and deliver the $1,500 bonus before Christmas as an interim measure.
3. Meet with the IEU to discuss bargaining a Single Interest Agreement that delivers the wage increases, workload relief and wellbeing measures Catholic education staff deserve.
IEU members say it’s time for the VCEA to stop delaying, support the SIA application, and start negotiating the improvements our staff in Catholic schools urgently need.
The VCEA previously claimed it wanted to get money in the pockets of staff as soon as possible. The fastest way to do that is an interim pay rise while negotiations get underway under an SIA. There is now no viable alternative to bargaining under an SIA.
Union movement backs the SIA campaign
ACTU Secretary Sally McManus says the IEU’s successful campaign with Victorian Catholic education staff to apply for an SIA is of great importance to the entire union movement.
Last week, Sally said the union movement’s push for crucial multi-employer bargaining reform was “on the precipice” three years ago when she asked the IEU to step up, both through our campaign work and by participating in a Senate inquiry looking at the proposed legislation.
“And you did! It’s wonderful to see what you’re doing now … the result has been unbelievable! And it comes down to one thing – your organising – something bosses can never do. It comes down to meetings and one-on-one conversations in workplaces … It’s just amazing what you’ve done. You continue to out-organise the bosses.
“The rest of the union movement is watching what you’re doing … It’s so inspiring!”
The unprecedented nature of the employers’ so-called offer and their efforts to undermine and sidestep bargaining with the union underscore how much is at stake for the broader union movement in the IEU’s application.
David said it would set an important precedent for fair multi-employer bargaining, and said the union needs to “do the hard yards” now to secure as many signatures as possible.
An SIA in every employer group will strengthen the position of the staff in bargaining when it begins, and secure bargaining as one unified multi-enterprise agreement for the sector.
Why the SIA matters
An SIA requires multiple “like” employers to bargain together, replacing fragmented, school-by-school negotiations with coordinated sector-level bargaining. This model rebalances power between employers and employees, aligning issues, timelines and outcomes across schools.
In feminised, multi-employer sectors such as education, sectoral bargaining also helps close gender pay gaps by preventing undercutting and lifting standards across the board.
Davidsaid success in the SIA campaign would strengthen bargaining power across Catholic education and set a vital precedent for the wider union movement.
“An SIA across Victorian Catholic education will give staff a genuine voice in bargaining and ensure future agreements deliver the pay, workload relief and wellbeing measures they deserve,” he said.