Victorian Catholic school employers reject fair bargaining – again
For the second time, the Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA) has refused the IEU’s request to negotiate a new Agreement under a Single Interest Authorisation (SIA).
This refusal denies employees basic industrial rights available to most Australian workers, leaving them, as IEU Victoria Tasmania General Secretary David Brear puts it, “negotiating with one hand tied behind their back.”
An SIA would grant employees the right to take protected industrial action and seek assistance from the Fair Work Commission (FWC) if negotiations break down—critical tools in achieving a fair outcome.
Instead, the VCEA continues to claim its approach is “cooperative,” “timely,” and has worked well in the past. The truth is the opposite. The last round of bargaining dragged on for months and delivered pay rises so small that Catholic school staff in Victoria now earn up to $10,000 less than interstate colleagues. These are the same employers now insisting that denying staff access to industrial action and the FWC will somehow produce a faster result.
The spin translated
In its latest letter to employees, the VCEA claims it wants to “avoid processes that may distract or delay an agreement.” What they really mean is:
“We don’t want an even playing field.”
They also claim that the IEU’s approach would “take time and focus away from a productive resolution.” Translation:
“A SIA would hold us accountable.”
And one more: for “Co-operative bargaining,” read:
“Bargaining on our terms, with disempowered employees.”
As one recent article in The Age pointed out, public education staff in Victoria have the right to strike. So do most Australian workers. Only this group of Catholic employers continue to deny that basic right to their employees.
The values they forgot
For organisations built on faith, these employers have forgotten core teachings on fairness and justice:
Rerum Novarum and Laborem Exercens affirm the right to fair wages, safe conditions, and collective bargaining.
Enterprise bargaining is a way to seek justice, not just charity, in our workplaces.
Ethical industrial action, used as a last resort, is supported by Church teaching to correct injustice.
Solidarity is not just unionism—it’s supposed to be Catholic action.
Catholic social teaching upholds the dignity of work. As Pope Francis said:
“There is no worse poverty than that which takes away work and the dignity of work.”
It’s time to act with courage and conscience. Accepting the VCEA’s “trust us, we know best” approach is a risk we cannot afford.
