QTU TAFE EB10 Bulletin no. 9 | 15 July 2019 | View as PDF
TAFE member stop-work action postponed
QTU TAFE Division members’ statewide industrial action planned for Thursday, 18 July has been postponed.
The QTU previously directed all members of the TAFE Division to stop work on Thursday, 18 July in accordance with the protected action ballot of our TAFE Division members that was conducted between 11 June and 25 June. In that ballot, members voted yes to taking an initial two-hour stop-work meeting before 31 July and a subsequent 24 hour strike to be scheduled, if required, at a date to be determined.
The QTU’s log of claims seeks to improve pay, increase access to permanency, and address programming matters to mitigate workload, but at the time of the protected action ballot, TAFE Queensland had not provided an offer in response to the QTU’s claim.
On Friday, 12 July, the employer formally tabled an offer.
The employer’s offer holds to whole-of-government policy on some matters, however TAFE Queensland and the QTU have reached in-principle agreement on a number of matters, including:
- development of a Best Practice Guide to Programming that would include programming of online delivery and other modes of learning
- a review of TAFE Queensland Online arrangements
- development of procedures related to the fair allocation of work
- rolling sections of the Joint Statement on Team Based Working Arrangements into a replacement certified agreement
- recognition that additional duties undertaken by educators which are of benefit to TAFE Queensland should be accounted for as part of an educator’s program (e.g. health and safety representatives)
- development of materials to support local consultative committees
- a simplified dispute resolution process
- a review of processes that contribute to casualisation of the workforce
- including educational team leaders and higher education classifications in the certified agreement
- a review of provisions in the certified agreement relevant to class size.
The employer’s offer notes that it remains consistent with whole-of-government policy and that it is unable to support claims that generate additional costs.
A special meeting of TAFE Executive will consider the employer’s offer on Tuesday morning. QTU TAFE Executive members are elected from TAFE branches across the state.
If QTU TAFE Executive resolve that the employer’s offer is acceptable, then the QTU will conduct a ballot of all financial members of the QTU’s TAFE Division to determine whether or not the QTU should accept the offer. However, if QTU TAFE Executive determines that the offer does not satisfactorily address the QTU’s log of claims and subsequently rejects the offer, in accordance with the Rules and Constitution of the QTU, TAFE Executive might also determine a new stop-work date.
In making their decision, QTU TAFE Executive members will consider the employer’s offer against the four threshold matters that the protected action ballot determined could be used as triggers for industrial action. The threshold matters are:
- salaries that achieve comparability with interstate colleagues and address the cost of living
- a new salary classification structure for education team leaders and higher education
- processes to address gender employment equity
- factors to mitigate increasing workload.
The QTU will advise members of the outcome of the special TAFE Executive meeting in a further TAFE Bulletin.
Graham Moloney General Secretary |
Craig Wood Research Officer - Industrial Advocate |
Authorised by Kate Ruttiman, General Secretary, Queensland Teachers' Union
21 Graham Street, Milton, QLD, Australia, 4064