EB9: 2020 and beyond
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 124 No 7, 27 September 2019, page no. 13
With the commencement of the new certified agreement, a number of new entitlements, including the new classification structure, will take effect.
These working conditions include the following.
Health, safety and wellbeing
These provisions commit the department to taking all reasonable steps to identify and address risks associated with workplace health and safety and wellbeing of staff. These include fostering a culture of respect within a workplace and promoting an environment where occupational violence is not tolerated. Importantly, this is the provision that raises safe workspaces for practical subjects and provides for release time for training health and safety representatives (HSR) and commits the department to providing up to four days TRS per annum for HSR duties and training.
Changes to student-free days and professional development
The agreement specifies that rostered duty time can exceed more than seven hours following consultation with the LCC for student-free days only. The clause also changes the mandated student-free day from term four to term three from 2020 and identifies that there are 25 hours of mandatory professional development per year – 15 hours of which must be worked on gazetted student-free days. The remaining 10 hours may also be worked on these days or at alternative times, as determined through consultation at the LCC. In addition to the reduction of mandatory professional development hours from 30 to 25 hours per year, this clause provides for one day of additional TRS for senior secondary teachers (FTE) from term three 2020 (2020 school year only) for the purposes of the new SATE.
Senior teacher and experienced senior teacher
This clause provides for the incorporation of the senior teacher undertaking and personal action plan as part of the APR from 2020. It also includes new provisions improving access to EST for three-year trained teachers, instrumental music teachers/instructors and teachers recruited from interstate. There will be a revised selection process for EST during 2020 as well.
Workload
The Workload Advisory Council will be established in the first six months following the certification of the agreement. It will collect information about issues contributing to workload pressures, monitor emerging workload issues and inform workload reduction initiatives. It will be made up of Union/department representatives, with representation from workplaces. The council will take submissions from various employees. In addition, the new provisions regarding workload management will take effect.
Access to permanency
Temporary teachers will have access to permanency after two years' continuous employment, rather than three.
RAIS
Beginning teachers appointed to transfer rating 6 and 7 schools will receive an additional $1,000 incentive payment at the start of their engagement at the centre.
Permanent part-time
Permanent part-time teachers will access annual progression from the commencement of the 2020 school year.
Specialist teachers
The use of the allocation of specialist teachers for something other than a specialist teacher role must be subject to consultation at the local level. New teacher positions established at schools that provide a specialist curriculum will have access to the specialist teacher conditions.
While there are other improvements that will take effect during the life of the agreement, the ones listed above will either have an immediate effect or will take effect in 2020. Schools should be preparing to implement the new arrangements. The QTU is currently working on an implementation guide to assist in this process.