Ignore the Catholic employer “offer”, stand firm, and sign up for an SIA!
Victorian Catholic school employers have announced a so-called “first and final offer” — a move aimed at bypassing the IEU and avoiding genuine bargaining with staff.
This changes nothing. In fact, it makes it even more vital that we achieve a single interest authorisation (SIA) so we have more control over our destiny once we are bargaining.
This ploy shows that our campaign for statements of support is having an effect on these employers and we must stay the course!
The employer ploy is:
Cynical: It’s a short-term sugar hit designed to divide staff.
Poor on pay: Leaves us up to $7,000 behind NSW colleagues by next October.
Empty: Ignores workload, entitlements, safety and wellbeing.
Trying to evade bargaining: A “first and final” position undermines our rights.
The message from the IEU is:
Stay strong: We need all staff in Catholic education to sign statements of support for a Single Interest Authorisation (SIA) now more than ever.
Staff have spoken: A record number signed the Statement of Support the day after the announcement.
There’s more to come: Detailed analysis and an online Q&A are on the way.
How to answer the employer ‘survey’:
Employers have now sought staff feedback on their proposal. If you support the right of staff to a fair bargain, we advise:
Give feedback to each item on why it falls short.
Say that you want an SIA to ensure fair negotiations.
Our campaign is having an effect
The only reason the VCEA have put out this purported “offer” is because IEU members have been organising and campaigning in their workplaces and thousands of staff members - union or not - are signing the statement of support for an SIA.
It’s because of members like you taking action to change your workplaces for the better: having conversations with your colleagues, building momentum and demanding more.
Your action forced the VCEA to make this unprecedented gambit; imagine what more we can achieve if we continue to stand together and fight as union.
They are scared of you having the power to take protected industrial action because they have seen what this has achieved in NSW government and Catholic schools. Our NSW colleagues took historic joint strike action and they won the country’s leading pay and conditions for education staff. It’s time for us to do the same. Keep fighting for an SIA.
The vague so-called “Offer” fools no-one
Whether you are an IEU member or not, this employer’s purported “Offer” is not good for you, your career or Victorian Catholic education.
It shows why our campaign for bargaining rights is so important. Without an SIA, employers will keep trying to shortchange their employees and sidestep bargaining.
The employers are making this attempt before they have even been served the IEU’s log of claims – a document built from months of member consultation. Staff can see through the ploy: the day after the announcement, a record-breaking number of colleagues signed on in support of the SIA.
The reality of the purported “offer”
Poor on pay: The employers are trying to leave staff thousands of dollars behind their colleagues in NSW Catholic education and elsewhere, and the overdue job of overhauling Education Support staff classifications is completely ignored.
Entrenched disparity: This union once fought hard to win pay parity for the Catholic sector with state schools. Do Catholic employers really want this era to be remembered as the time when we fell behind not only teachers across the Murray River, but our own government school counterparts? If we accept being shortchanged now, we may never catch up.
Ignoring staff needs: The employers have totally ignored vital workload entitlements and staff safety issues, or suggested we take hard-won conditions backwards. The IEU Log of Claims has 101 claims based on our detailed consultation with members about their priorities – employers don’t even want to know what staff need.
Ploy to evade bargaining: Calling it a “first and final offer” before bargaining has even commenced is the opposite of wanting to negotiate in good faith. It’s a manipulative take it or leave it ultimatum: leave it!
Trust: Does anyone working in this sector trust employers who have consistently dragged out bargaining and resisted overdue workload measures, then accused the union of delay? This is a cynical attempt to divide staff, undermine union solidarity and distract from our campaign for fair bargaining rights with a short-term sugar hit.
Member reaction
An IEU Assistant Rep called ABC Melbourne Drive after hearing Catholic corporate boss James Merlino defend the offer. Here’s what he said:
“It’s disappointing to listen to a former Labor minister — someone elected off the backs of teachers and working-class people for many years — leave Parliament and then go side with the corporate employer. I think that’s a betrayal of the union movement.
“Catholic teachers in Victoria deserve more. We deserve a pay rise that is equitable and fair, one that matches, if not exceeds, our state counterparts.”
On social media, Rep Brendan Nicholls summed up the offer bluntly:
“They are rattled, on the run, clutching at straws!!”
His meme captured how underwhelming the monetary proposal really was:
The expert opinion: What an Assistant Rep says
“It is an attempt to mislead and divide us,” wrote an Assistant Rep at a regional Catholic College to their colleagues. “Let’s be clear: they have NOT commenced genuine bargaining. We are aware not all staff are union members but believe in your right to hear information from both sides.
“What’s happened is a small group of self-nominated individuals and bodies like “Red Union”, have met with VCEA. That is not bargaining. It would never withstand Fair Work Commission scrutiny, and it’s designed to confuse or scare workers. The email you received is part of a plan to divide school staff.
“Let’s be blunt: Red Union is not a union. They charge cheap fees, provide almost nothing in return, and have no recognition under the Fair Work Act. No organisers. No industrial officers. No right of entry. No authority. They exist only to weaken real unions. They are not an alternative union and are not able to bargain for the agreement (see the original email from VCEA - the IEU is the nominated party for workers by default).
“The reality is this: bargaining cannot truly begin until the registered parties (VCEA - who represent all 36 employers, the IEU who represent almost every worker) are at the table, and the IEU will not bargain without securing an SIA, as we, the members, have demanded.
“So when VCEA says ‘bargaining has begun,’ it’s a smokescreen. They want to rattle us, pressure us, and drag us into a weak process without an SIA.
“Their published “objectives” prove the point: they ignore the 101 claims we have democratically endorsed, they dismiss the depth of our log of claims, and they remain out of touch with reality in schools. They would rather preserve salary disparities than fix them. The VCEA offer also depends on the outcome of bargaining in the State system which is unknown.
“The VCEA offer of 7% still puts us behind our N.S.W counterparts in salary and will ensure we remain behind them for years to come.”
What now?
This ploy by employers only proves our point: without bargaining rights we cannot win the real, lasting improvements staff deserve. This is our moment to stand strong together.
The surge of Statements of Support so far has been inspiring — but we need to get the message to every staff member in every Victorian Catholic school to sign up.
Keep encouraging your colleagues, and keep the momentum growing.
Remember - we need a majority of all staff to sign, not just union members, at every employer for whom we apply for a SIA
Our sector will not thrive by accepting a short-term rip-off designed to silence us. It will thrive when staff are respected, protected, and paid fairly.
Together, we will win the rights, the pay, and the conditions Catholic education staff deserve — by securing the SIA.
