Guidance Matters newsletter No. 9, 8 May 2024 | Open PDF

Guidance Matters No.9 - May 2024

Get involved in shaping the next schools EB11 claim

QTU members were very active in terms of the recent ballot, ensuring a strong return. Strong engagement in the enterprise bargaining (EB) claim development process is also needed as EB claims are shaped by those who turn up and engage.

To progress the development of the next claim, the Union will consult members on the improvements they would like to see included in a replacement certified agreement. Once consultation is complete, feedback is collated into a draft log of claims. Once approved by QTU State Council, this log of claims forms the basis of negotiations with the department.

This is an invitation to get active. Locally, through your guidance network, work with your colleagues to consider what improvements you would like to see in your working conditions. Guidance members are encouraged to engage with their local QTU branch to progress their matters for consideration.

All QTU members across the state will be invited to attend and participate in special EB11 branch meetings. Check https://www.qtu.asn.au/branch-meetings for the dates. The meetings will focus on the wins achieved in the current certified agreement and then propose new items for consideration for the claim. As always, any member can attend their branch meeting to discuss ideas and propose a formal motion that the branch can consider. The motion would then need to be seconded, after which branch members may debate the motion and then vote in favour or against. When putting an item forward, it is always strategic to have a motion already shaped with supporting arguments. It is also useful to have your mover and seconder identified so that they can speak to the detail of the motion. Should the motion be supported by the branch it will be progressed through to the claim development phase.

The March Queensland Teachers’ Journal explains the EB11 claim development process in more detail. Please note that the deadline for submitting branch motions to the QTU is 14 June. After this date, no further motions can be accepted. For EB11, the QTU will again use an interest-based bargaining approach. After the special branch meeting motions have been received, the QTU Industrial Advocate and QTU senior officers will group them into common interest areas. A draft log of claims will be considered and finalised by the elected members of the QTU Executive at its first meeting of Term 3 (July 8). Subsequently, elected branch representatives at August State Council will consider the draft and endorse the interest areas and the final log of claims. Page 8 of the March Journal has a comprehensive timeline and a glossary of terms.

The Union will keep members informed through Member Newsflashes. Every branch has an elected state council representative who attends state council and who will have the opportunity to ask questions, enter debate on the claim and determine, through the democratic processes of State Council, the final claim. Get to know your local branch state council representative. By engaging in branch meetings, you have opportunity to seek the support of the branch in progressing motions through to the claim development phase.

For more information on EB11 go to https://www.qtu.asn.au/eb11.

Comprehensive Review of School Resourcing

A significant outcome of the last certified agreement is the Comprehensive Review of School Resourcing (CRoSR). Experienced FNQ principal, Cindy Freier, is the QTU Project Officer working on the review. Senior guidance officers and guidance officer members worked with their colleagues to engage with Cindy, in both face-to-face and online forums, to help shape the QTU CRoSR submission to the department. The majority of the CRoSR feedback has come through member engagement in the Union’s democratic structures and been informed by existing QTU policy positions.

Information on the review and the QTU’s Summary of Recommendations can be found at: https://www.qtu.asn.au/crosr

While significant work has already been undertaken, consultation continues. When preparing for engagement in the EB11 log of claims development, referring to the summary of CRoSR recommendations could be useful.

Applying Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination in Education QuEST PD

The QTU’s professional development section, Queensland Education Support and Training (QuEST), continues to offer professional development on the human rights and anti-discrimination legislation. This FREE half day course has been developed for teachers and school leaders by the Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC). It was developed through a partnership between the QTU and the QHRC to address some of the issues arising as schools work to understand the Human Rights Act 2019. The courses fill quickly and usually have a waitlist. Presently, there are still spaces for the October and November online training.

The training aims to raise participants’ understanding of the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (ADA) and the Queensland Human Rights Act 2019 (HRA) through an overview of the key legal concepts and responsibilities under each Act and of the functions of the QHRC. The training will focus on:

• an overview of the ADA and HRA, including obligations under both the Acts
• Section 36 of the HRA - The Right to Education
• how to conduct a human rights impact assessment ( i.e. how to give proper consideration to human rights when making decisions)
• complaints processes for both the ADA and HRA, and
• ADA case law in relation to children with a disability in education.
   

These sessions incorporate real case studies and interactive activities.

This training is being delivered FREE to members of the QTU and is strongly recommended.

Directive 03/23 – Review of acting or secondment at higher classification level

The Public Sector Act 2022 establishes employment on a permanent basis as the default basis of employment in the Queensland public sector.

Directive 03/23 – Review of acting or secondment at higher classification level sets out procedures for reviews and requirements for decisions in the context of reviewing whether a public sector employee acting, or seconded to, a higher classification level meets the requirement to be made permanent in the position. The directive provides a way of holding government departments to account in relation to maximising permanent appointments. Both guidance officers and senior guidance officers have used the mechanisms provided in the directive to have their acting appointment or secondment reviewed for the purposes of permanency. The QTU’s brochure on Directive 03/23 provides information and advice on how to apply for a review, and on the subsequent steps that may need to be followed. Members can also discuss the process and receive support from a QTU Officer.

 Authorised by Kate Ruttiman, General Secretary, Queensland Teachers' Union
21 Graham Street, Milton, QLD, Australia, 4064