Teachers and support staff in the ACT and NSW Catholic schools voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new enterprise agreement, with an overwhelming 98% in favour of its adoption. This week, The Front Project published the results of a survey of more than 1,000 parents and early childhood facilitators sharing their experiences in early childhood education and care (ECEC) during COVID-19. Today, Catholic teachers took union action in Sydney and rallied against the CCER`s decision to interfere with their right to arbitration in their recent enterprise contract. Members of the NSW/ACT Branch Independent Education Union at the Islamic School of Canberra now have the right to take industrial action, as lengthy negotiations on enterprise agreements continue to stall. The union was informed in September by the AIS that schools did not want to enter into new enterprise agreements for 2021 and that wage increases in 2021, if any, would be set under a school discretion. The AIS proposed that the IEU representatives discuss with their principal/head of the school the proposal to increase staff in their school. Lately, the media has been filled with stories about the role of international students in the education sector, particularly in the context of the continuing unrest in Hong Kong. Independent schools in the NSW and the ACT have recently published papers on workers` representation rights (NERRs). This is the first step that employers are legally able to take before negotiations begin for new multi-company agreements (MMAs).
The NSW Exchange Teachers League (ETL) celebrates 90 years of volunteering for the educational community in 2020 with a birthday dinner. There are a number of changes in funding for early childhood education and care that will have a significant impact on the sector. The agreement on the schools of Catholic systems NSW and ACT expires on 31 December this year and THE members of the Union are now asking to meet and approve a new application. Following, the IEU`s request for the inclusion of new multi-company agreements in 2021 applies. For universities without an enterprise agreement (EA)… Lindy Farrant, the first and long-time director of the Early Childhood Centre Park, was mourned by the community of Parkes. Farrant was a member of the IEU and a strong supporter and inspiration for early childhood education, not only in the parks community, but also within the region and the state. Minister Mark Northam has expressed the union`s support to our queensland colleagues, 7,000 of whom face the unprecedented risk of being excluded from their schools if negotiations on the agreements intensify. The union has met with the Catholic Labour Relations Board (CCER) for a new enterprise agreement that will apply to teachers and support staff from January 2020. The CCER has so far accepted a number of the union`s demands, but many key issues remain unresolved. Northern Beaches Council has established a $10,000 scholarship program to help local schools become more sustainable.
The Eco Schools Grants program offers $2,000 per school to partially or fully fund initiatives in the areas of grazing regeneration, CO2 reduction, waste reduction, water reuse and reduction, and sustainability education. Early childhood teachers in NSW are eagerly awaiting a commitment from NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Education and Early Childhood Minister Sarah Mitchell to meet the pay equity agreement announced today by the Victorian government. The Victorian announcement calls for early childhood teachers to finally pay the same rate as teachers at the school, the right rate for their equivalent and often identical teacher qualifications. The IEU knows that early childhood teachers ensure that their services are highly organized in the areas of care and education, health and safety,