AEU NT Member Bulletin 01/2022
14 March 2022
In this Bulletin:
- AEU NT Executive rejects OCPE’s latest offer to teachers
- Employee ballot likely before end of term
- AEU NT Branch Conference
Commissioner’s revised offer for a new NTPS Non-Contract Principals, Teachers and Assistant Teachers’ Enterprise Agreement.
Last Thursday, March 10th, the Commissioner for Public Employment provided the AEU NT with an improved offer for a new enterprise agreement. There are two changes to the offer she made last year. Firstly, the proposed electricity subsidy would be deferred until the start of the 2024 school year for those employees who currently do not pay for their electricity. However, the subsidy would start seven days after Fair Work approves the new agreement. This would mean that teachers who work in remote schools but still pay for electricity (teachers in Nhulunbuy, for example) would start receiving a subsidy.
The other change is to reduce the length of the Agreement from four years to three, so it would expire in October 2024.
Apart from these two changes, the offer mirrors the one made on 23 November 2021. This means no pay rises. A wage freeze would be in place until the end of 2024. The only offer of money remains lump sum payments: $4000 after the Agreement is approved and annual lump sum payments of $2000 in October for the life of the Agreement.
The AEU NT Branch Executive met last Friday, 11 March, and unanimously voted to reject the Commissioner’s offer. Simply put, the AEU NT cannot countenance an enterprise agreement which threatens the ability to recruit and retain teachers in the Northern Territory and which will seriously undermine the viability of a public education system that draws heavily on other jurisdictions, which have already begun to offer better pay and conditions.
Members have reported significant challenges in staffing, workload, and resourcing since the start of the school year. The AEU NT will not support an agreement which will make these issues worse.
Employee ballot likely before end of term
The Commissioner has been informed of Branch Executive’s rejection of her latest offer, and that if she proceeds with an employee ballot, we will be encouraging our members to vote no.
The OCPE have yet to provide a timeline for an employee ballot, but it is expected that there will be a ballot before the end of the term.
AEU NT Branch Conference
The AEU NT will be holding its annual Branch Conference for 2022 on the weekend of Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May in Darwin. It will be taking place at the Hilton Darwin.
Each sub-branch is entitled to send at least one delegate and submit motions for discussion, with a cut-off date for both registrations and motions on Friday 8 April 2022. Registration is now open. Don’t leave it until the last minute!
Authorised by Adam Lampe, Branch Secretary, 3/8 Totem Rd Coconut Grove NT 0810