14,000 staff back fair bargaining as more than 270 workplaces reach 50%
Support for fair bargaining rights continues to grow across Victorian Catholic education, with 14,000 staff now backing the Petition of Support and almost 200 workplaces reaching 60 per cent support or higher.
14,000 Victorian Catholic education staff have now backed the Petition of Support for fair bargaining rights – another major milestone in a campaign that continues to build strength across the state.
Hundreds ofadditional supporters have joined the campaign over the past week, with strong growth across every diocese.
At MACS, more than 10,000 staff have now signed and support continues to build well beyond the employer-wide halfway mark.
But the story is not simply the growing number of individual supporters.
More than 270 workplaces have now reached 50 per cent support or higher – and almost 200 have already pushed beyond 60 per cent.
Support keeps getting deeper
Last week we urged workplaces that had reached 50 per cent not to stop there – and members have responded.
Almost 200 workplaces are now at 60 per cent support or higher, more than 100 have reached 70 per cent, more than 50 are at 80 per cent or higher, and more than 25 have reached 90 per cent.
More than two-thirds of MACS workplaces have now reached the 50 per cent mark, while more than half of DOSCEL workplaces are also at 50 per cent or higher.
There has been further progress in both Sandhurst and Ballarat, with workplaces continuing to build support across all four dioceses.
These results are exactly why the campaign cannot stop once a workplace reaches the halfway mark. Every additional supporter strengthens our position and makes the overall level of support harder to dispute.
Five employer groups over the line
Five employer groups are now above 50 per cent support.
MACSS Specialist Schools continues to lead the way, with support approaching three-quarters of eligible staff, while FCJ College Benalla, Catholic College Sale and St Bede’s College all remain comfortably above the halfway mark.
At MACS, more than 10,000 staff have now signed and support continues to grow beyond 50 per cent employer-wide.
The task now is to keep strengthening those margins while continuing to build support across the remaining employer groups.
Big movers this week
There have again been some remarkable workplace-level results.
Marymede Catholic College South Morang has been among the biggest movers of the week, with a major surge of new support pushing the workplace well beyond the halfway mark.
At Nazareth College, another strong burst has taken support from below 50 per cent to well beyond it, while Corpus Christi School Werribee has also surged through the halfway mark and continued building.
There have been strong pushes at Holy Rosary School Kensington and St Paul the Apostle School Doreen, both of which are now comfortably above 50 per cent.
In Sale, St Peter’s College Cranbourne Campus has added a large number of new supporters and is now tantalisingly close to the halfway mark, while Lumen Christi School Churchill has powered through 50 per cent and continued building beyond it.
Fresh support has also taken St Joseph’s School Warragul and St Mary’s School Yarram to the halfway mark, while Notre Dame College Shepparton has continued the outstanding growth of recent weeks.
And those are only some of the workplaces continuing to move.
The statewide leaderboard keeps getting harder to crack
As support grows, so does the standard required to make our statewide leaderboard.
A workplace now needs more than 80 per cent support just to make the Top 50!
There has been plenty of movement this week, with two new workplaces breaking into the statewide Top 50.
Sacred Heart School Colac has surged into the list, while Emmanuel College Altona North has also broken into the Top 50.
Among the biggest climbers, Marymede Catholic College Doreen has jumped six places to #10 statewide, while St Bernard’s School Bacchus Marsh and St Mary of the Cross School Point Cook have each climbed six places.
Our updated Top 50 diocesan workplaces
St Peter’s School – Keilor East – MACS
Our Lady of the Rosary School – Kyneton – MACS
St Anne’s School – Kew East – MACS
St Joseph’s College – Ferntree Gully – MACS
St Oliver Plunkett’s School – Pascoe Vale – MACS
St Richard’s School – Kilsyth – MACS
St Joseph’s School – Wonthaggi – DOSCEL
Sacred Heart School – Morwell – DOSCEL
St Mary’s School – Alexandra – MACS
Marymede Catholic College – Doreen – MACS
St Clare’s School – Thomastown West – MACS
Queen of Peace School – Altona Meadows – MACS
St James’ School – Sebastopol – DOBCEL
St Monica’s School – Footscray – MACS
St Mark’s School – Dingley – MACS
St John’s School – Heidelberg – MACS
St Laurence O’Toole’s School – Leongatha – DOSCEL
Holy Cross Catholic Primary School – Mickleham – MACS
St Therese’s School – Essendon – MACS
St Catherine of Siena School – Armstrong Creek – MACS
St Philip’s School – Blackburn North – MACS
St James’ School – Brighton – MACS
St John Bosco’s School – Niddrie – MACS
St Paul’s School – Monbulk – MACS
St Francis of Assisi School – Tarneit – MACS
St Thomas the Apostle School – Cranbourne East – DOSCEL
Thomas Carr College – Tarneit – MACS
St Francis Xavier’s School – Corio – MACS
St Patrick’s School – Port Fairy – DOBCEL
St Mary MacKillop School – Bannockburn – MACS
St Mary’s School – Cohuna – CESL
St Therese’s School – Cranbourne – DOSCEL
St Augustine’s School – Keilor – MACS
St Joseph’s School – Boronia – MACS
Ave Maria College – Aberfeldie – MACS
St Bernard’s School – Bacchus Marsh – MACS
St Kevin’s School – Hampton Park – MACS
St Joseph’s School – Springvale – MACS
Padua College – Tyabb – MACS
St Mary of the Cross School – Point Cook – MACS
St Thomas’ School – Sale – DOSCEL
Marian College – Myrtleford – CESL
St Luke’s School – Lalor – MACS
Sacred Heart School – Colac – DOBCEL
St Patrick’s School – Kilmore – MACS
Catholic Regional College St Albans – St Albans – MACS
St Mary’s School – Lancefield – MACS
Lisieux Catholic Primary School – Torquay North – MACS
St Patrick’s School – Mentone – MACS
Emmanuel College – Altona North – MACS
How is your diocese tracking?
There has been plenty of movement in the diocesan leaderboards too.
At MACS, Marymede Catholic College Doreen and St Clare’s School Thomastown West have broken into the Top 10, while St Joseph’s College Ferntree Gully has moved up to fourth.
In Sale, the same 10 workplaces remain on the leaderboard – but St Joseph’s School Wonthaggi has taken the #1 position, moving ahead of Sacred Heart School Morwell.
Ballarat has two new Top 10 entries, with Siena Catholic Primary School Lucas and St Brigid’s College Horsham breaking into the list. Sacred Heart School Colac has also climbed to third.
Can you get your workplace onto next week’s list?
50% is a milestone – not the finish line! The continued growth beyond 50 per cent is particularly important.
Last year, our employers were prepared to fight tooth and nail over our numbers, challenging our evidence and contesting who should count.
So this time, we are not aiming merely to scrape over the line.
We need to keep building until the level of support is so strong – and the margin so clear – that it leaves no room for dispute.
If your workplace has reached 50 per cent, keep going.
Aim for 70%. Aim for 80%. Aim for 100%!
And if your workplace is not there yet, every additional conversation and every additional Petition of Support can bring it closer.
Every signature strengthens our collective position and brings Victorian Catholic education staff closer to securing the fair bargaining rights we deserve.
