Catholic sector teachers to go on strike

A full-day stop work has been endorsed by the Independent Education Union executive, following a vote by over 17,000 teachers and support staff in the Catholic education sector.

The vote was overwhelmingly in favour of the right to take protected industrial action in support of five key claims for their new enterprise agreement.

The full-day stop work will be held on Friday, 27 May, with rallies throughout NSW and the ACT.

“Taking protected industrial action is no small thing — we don’t take it lightly,” said Mark Northam, Branch Secretary for the IEU of Australia NSW/ACT.

“Teachers and support staff across both the government and non-government sectors are dedicated professionals pushed to breaking point. Schools have been running on good will, but it is rapidly evaporating.”

For the right to take protected action, IEU members participated in a formal balloting process complying with strict federal laws. It was run across all 11 Catholic dioceses by an external agent — and all 11 Catholic dioceses sent a strong message that it’s time for action.

“The sharply rising cost of living, lack of real wages growth, ever-increasing workloads and the pandemic have caused crippling staff shortages in Catholic schools — our members are exhausted and burnt out,” Northam said.

“Catholic school employers are following the NSW Government’s lead in limiting pay rises to 2.04%, a short-sighted approach that has resulted in the current staffing crisis. Teachers are leaving the profession and graduates are not entering it.”

The IEU has been negotiating a new enterprise agreement for its members in Catholic diocesan schools throughout NSW and the ACT since January, calling on employers to:

• Pay teachers what they’re worth (an increase of 10% to 15% over two years).
• Give support staff a fair deal (pay parity with colleagues in public sector schools).
• Let teachers teach — cut paperwork.
• Allow time to plan (two more hours release from face-to-face teaching per week).
• End staff shortages.
   

“Teachers are totally exhausted, they can give no more,” said IEUA NSW/ACT Branch President Chris Wilkinson.

“With the chronic shortage of casuals, teachers and support staff are being asked to take extra lessons and double classes on top of their teaching load, which takes away precious planning and preparation time. We urge employers to listen to teachers and support staff, hear our voices and pay us what we deserve.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Jonathan Stutz