Catholic Employment Relations agrees to bargain for new teachers’ agreement

Friday 28 January 2022 


Catholic Employment Relations agrees to bargain for new teachers’ agreement 

The IEU welcomes a letter from Catholic Employment Relations dated 27 January 2022 agreeing to commence negotiations for a new NSW Catholic Systemic Enterprise Agreement and a new ACT Catholic Systemic Schools Principals Enterprise Agreement. The previous agreements expired on December 31. 

The Independent Education Union of Australia NSW/ACT Branch first wrote to the Directors of all 12 Catholic Dioceses on 30 November 2021 setting out its claim for principals, teachers and support staff employed in Diocesan schools in NSW and the ACT.  

The IEU represents about [number] staff in [number] Catholic Diocesan schools throughout NSW and the ACT. The union’s claim for a new agreement mirrors the one made by the NSW Teachers Federation for teachers in government schools, and includes: 

  • a 10% to 15% pay rise over two years for all members 
  • effective strategies to deal with the accelerating teacher shortage 
  • reduced teaching time to allow teachers time to plan, prepare and consult with colleagues 
  • easing excessive workloads by removing admin tasks that don’t support teaching and learning. 
  • pay parity for support staff with their counterparts in government schools. 

“Teachers’ salaries have slid steadily backwards since the NSW Government introduced wage caps more than a decade ago – wage caps in the government sector have a strong impact on the non-government sector,” said IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Acting Secretary Carol Matthews.  

“So the IEU rejects the pay increase of 2.04% offered by Catholic Employment Relations in their letter of 27 January, and we look forward to robust discussions starting next week. 

“Our members have gone above and beyond their duties for years, but especially in the past two, ensuring teaching and learning continued during the upheaval and anxieties of a global pandemic. Now is the time to recognise this in substantial pay rises and improved conditions.” 

[Quote from Chris Wilkinson?] 

Contacts 

Carol Matthews, Acting Secretary, IEUA NSW/ACT Branch, 0418 272 902 

Media: Monica Crouch, 0411 645 751 monica@ieu.asn.au 

The IEUA NSW/ACT Branch represents over 32,000 teachers, principals and support staff in Catholic and independent schools, early childhood centres and post-secondary colleges. 

Authorised by Carol Matthews, Acting Secretary, IEUA NSW/ACT