IMT Bulletin Term 2, 14 May 2021 | DOWNLOAD PDF
IMT Bulletin - Term 2 Update
QTU consultation for a review of the MOA
Instrumental music teachers and instructors are covered by a suite of industrial legislation and instruments, including the Public Service Act 2008, Work Health and Safety Act 2011, Industrial Relations Act 2016, and of course the 2016 award and 2019 certified agreement.
The certified agreement provides for our Union, the Queensland Teachers’ Union, and the Department of Education to enter into a memorandum of agreement in relation to circumstances that apply to a specific group of employees, like instrumental music teachers and instructors.
The QTU and the department have a commitment to review and/or renegotiate all existing memoranda of agreement during the life of the current certified agreement.
QTU consultation for a review of the MOA will begin later this term. Look out for the QTU member survey that will be emailed directly to you. Click here to go to the QTU’s membership portal and update your email or any other membership details.
Workload reviews: A focus on data
The current MOA recognises some of the unique circumstances that apply to instrumental music teachers and instructors. Data and moderation are two examples of professional issues that have a unique application in the delivery of the Queensland Instrumental Music Curriculum, and these issues should be included in a renegotiated MOA.
The 2020 workload reviews provided an overarching framework for QTU members and the department on a range of professional issues. Download your copy of the Workload Review poster from the QTU website. One of the professional issues was data.
Since the publication of the Workload Review poster, the QTU and the department have agreed to a Joint Statement on the Purpose and Use of Data. This joint statement does not provide any region with a head of power to direct instrumental music teachers or instructors to collect data. Such powers are limited to schools and are negotiated through the school’s local consultative committee.
The QTU understands that the department has developed an additional position on data for instrumental music teachers and instructors. At the time of writing, the department’s position has not been provided to the QTU for consultation, and the QTU has not agreed to the department’s position.
The QTU’s intention is to view the department’s position statement on instrumental music data collection as one of the department’s log of claims for consideration during negotiations for a replacement MOA.
QCT registration – thank you for local campaigning
QTU members who are instrumental music teachers and instructors are to be congratulated for the grass roots campaigning with their local branches and area councils throughout the state. Again, the collective voices of our instrumental music teacher and instructor members have been heard. QTU State Council has asked for updates on this matter throughout the year. It’s never too late to click here and refer these motions to your local branch.
That said, Otto Von Bismarck is attributed with the quote: "Laws are like sausages, it's better not to see them being made." The squeamish should look away now.
The branch and area council motions were received and endorsed by the QTU's supreme decision-making body, our Union's State Council. These motions then informed reporting to the Board of the Queensland College of Teachers. The QTU is represented on the Board of the QCT.
The QTU and the Department of Education are united in the view that instrumental music teachers delivering the Queensland Instrumental Music Curriculum in state schools should be eligible for full registration without conditions. All parties also understand that QCT decision making is subject to Queensland legislative provisions.
Surprisingly, and frustratingly, and with echoes of Otto Von Bismarck’s words, there is not a quick fix to this matter. However, the QTU believes that all parties are now committed to working to resolve the issue.
This will be a standing item in each Bulletin this year.
Shout out to Christine!
Congratulations to Christine Jabs who was recognised as an outstanding activist at the Queensland Council of Unions Labour Day Awards. Christine is known to many QTU members and instrumental music teachers/instructors as one of the administrators of the Instrumental Music Teacher – Special Interest Group page on Facebook and an elected delegate on the Instrumental Music Reference Committee.
Leah Mertens Craig Wood
Deputy General Secretary Research Officer
Authorised by Kate Ruttiman, General Secretary, Queensland Teachers' Union
21 Graham Street, Milton, QLD, Australia, 4064