In this bulletin:
- Teacher EA operational; salary increases and back pay to follow
- Branch elections – voting still open
- Private school funding deal slammed
- 2019 Branch Conference – 4-5 May, Katherine
- Arthur Hamilton Award
Teacher EA operational; salary increases and back pay to follow
This week we wrote to all teacher and AT members advising that a new enterprise agreement is operational. The OCPE has released a bulletin informing all employees of when salary increases and back pay will apply from. More information is available here, or you can contact our office with any questions.
Branch elections – voting still open
By now all members should have received a postal ballot to vote in union elections for the positions of President, Treasurer and Vice-President TAFE (TAFE members only).
Ballot papers must be received by the Returning Officer by Monday 15 October. As the Returning Officer is in Queensland, it may take some time for your postal ballot to make its way to its final destination.
With school holidays imminent, if you are intending to vote we recommend you post your ballot by the end of this week to ensure it is received before the close of the vote.
Please direct any queries about the elections to the AEC returning Officer, Mr Tim Gordon, via [email protected].
Private school funding deal slammed
Last week the Morrison Government announced a $4.6 billion deal for Catholic and Independent schools. There was no mention of additional funding for public schools in this package.
The AEU denounced this move, with AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe saying: “This is a cynical attempt by the Morrison government to buy votes at the next election at the expense of students in our public schools. The Australian public won’t be fooled as this heats up as a major federal election issue.” Read our national media release here.
The AEU NT congratulates our Education Minister, Selena Uibo, for expressing her opposition to the special deal: “It is important that all schools in the Northern Territory are adequately funded based on the needs of their students. Providing additional funding for non-government schools while cutting $150 million funding to public school students shows that the Prime Minister has completely abandoned the principles of fairness and equity to achieve a quick political fix.”
The AEU is stepping up our Fair Funding Now! campaign as the federal election approaches. All members are encouraged to sign up as supporters of the campaign. Visit http://www.fairfundingnow.org.au/ to register.
2019 Branch Conference – 4-5 May, Katherine
Branch Executive has determined that next year’s Branch Conference will be held on the May Day weekend at the Knott’s Crossing Resort in Katherine. We are looking forward to the first Conference gathering in Katherine since 2011.
Katherine is one of our fastest growing regions, recently obtaining a second Executive councillor position.
Registrations for the 2019 Conference will open early next year and close on Friday 22 March.
Arthur Hamilton Award
Nominations are now open for the 2018 Arthur Hamilton Award, a national award recognising an AEU member who is making an outstanding contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education. This prize has been awarded to AEU NT members in two of the past three years – we encourage you to consider nominating colleagues who is deserving of recognition. Nomination forms are available at the AEU Federal website.
Further information
Download this bulletin in PDF format