The rights of working people were at stake in 2006 as the federal government sought to take them away through WorkChoices – and the union movement fought back.

Your rights at work – worth fighting for

The union movement’s opposition to WorkChoices through the Your Rights at Work campaign dominates the pages of Newsmonth in 2006.

The Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 came into effect on 27 March 2006.

This legislation removed unfair dismissal protections for tens of thousands of Australian workers. It removed the “no disadvantage” test from industrial law which required that workers be no worse off under any new enterprise agreement. Penalty rates, long service leave and annual leave loading all came under attack.

WorkChoices attacked union power and restricted the rights of workers to take industrial action. WorkChoices promoted the primacy of individual employment contracts over collective agreements.

IEU members in many NSW independent schools were impacted as employers transitioned from the State Award into the federal industrial relations system. Members in numerous schools banded together to ensure their employers did not impose non-union agreements with inferior salaries and conditions.

Not all employers saw the attack on workers’ rights as a proper or moral position and numerous churches, including the Catholic church and the Uniting church opposed the legislation.

The then Bishop of Armidale, Kevin Manning, said the legislation was “spectacularly inadequate when tested against the principles of Catholic social teaching”.

Newington College rallies against Work Choices

Newington College threatened to require teachers in senior promotion positions to reapply for their jobs with a significant diminution of salaries and conditions.

Strong action from the school’s IEU chapter, led by rep Michael Davis with support from the broader IEU, saw members from NSW, the ACT, Queensland and Western Australia send messages of solidarity to their colleagues at Newington.

Substantial media attention, including a visit from the Chaser comedic-satire team, brought a national focus to the potential impact of WorkChoices on teachers and school staff everywhere.

Union solidarity won the day, and teachers were not required to reapply for their jobs.

Three-band agreement

The IEU and the Association of Independent Schools (now called Independent Schools NSW) negotiated two model agreements for teachers in those schools determined to be in the federal system.

One agreement was based on the NSW Award and the other included a new progression system with only three bands and a newly created process to access Band 3.

Community preschools

Community preschools held a “Protest Play Day” on 8 April, wearing red to draw attention to the underfunding of the sector. Sound familiar? Check out our Start Strong Pay Fair campaign.

International solidarity

Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA reported on the work it was doing in Aceh, Indonesia, following the 2004 tsunami that devastated the region.

The IEU’s partnership with APHEDA goes back to the year it was founded in 1984. If you’re an APHEDA member, don’t forget to claim your donations on your tax return. If you’re not a member and would like to contribute to APHEDA’s work, visit: apheda.org.au.

A-to-E reporting

The federal government mandated A-to-E reporting, which was tied to government funding.

The union raised concerns with then Education Minister Julie Bishop about the inadequate timeline for implementation, the increase in workloads and the poor level of information provided to teachers.

Other concerns included that outcome-based reporting was inconsistent with A-to-E reporting and how it would work for students with special needs.

The union met with some employers who misunderstood the legislation as requiring increased numbers of parent-teacher evenings.

The year at a glance

• IEU membership: 27,461
• 2982 members joined the IEU in 2006; 20 years later, 467 are still members
• NSW Premier: Morris Iemma
• NSW Education Minister: Carmel Tebbutt
• NRL Premiers: Brisbane Broncos
• AFL Premiers: West Coast Eagles
• Academy Award Best Picture: Crash
• Booker Prize: The inheritance of loss, Kiran Desai
• ARIA Music Awards: Tea and sympathy, Bernard Fanning; Black fingernails, red wine, Eskimo Joe
• Australian of the Year: Professor Ian Frazer for his groundbreaking work in co-inventing the world’s first cervical cancer vaccine (Gardasil)
• Nobel Peace Prize: Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank – “for their efforts to create social and economic development from below” through providing small, collateral-free loans to impoverished people.

From the archives: Teachers learning from travel

Technological advances

Several members were invigorated by experiences overseas, including a teacher who went on a “fact-finding mission” to see social programs in Venezuela under the Hugo Chavez government.

He returned inspired by the ‘participatory’ model of government and keen to apply the principles in the classroom.

“In Venezuela… people get together to decide and discuss things,” he said.

The wonders of technology proved invaluable for teachers on exchange programs.

IT teachers from Canada and Australia used cutting-edge technology such as “Skype (an internet-based phone service)”, and “Google Earth (online maps and satellite images)”.

Both teachers “set up online public diaries (blogs) to document their travels.”

Our member found it wasn’t only family and friends reading his blog.

“We get people from all over the world reading it and writing to us about it,” he said. “It’s quite surprising to us!”

Cycling culture

A later issue of Newsmonth featured a physical education teacher on exchange in Hamburg whose fascination with the city’s strong cycling culture prompted her to successfully apply for a NSW Premier’s Teacher Scholarship.

“Bikes were everywhere and it was a well-respected mode of transport,” she said.

“Families cycle together from a young age,”
she said.

She returned to Australia passionate about incorporating cycling into our culture and keen to ride the bike she’d owned for 30 years.

Teacher Pat Devery was also awarded a NSW Premier’s Teacher Scholarship to travel to Greece, Italy and the UK to develop his teaching of Ancient History. He encouraged colleagues to apply for such opportunities.

Of course, Pat is now an IEU Assistant Secretary after heading the union’s professional development program for many years.

Published in the July 2026 edition of Newsmonth. Compiled by Dave Towson (Deputy Secretary), Monica Crouch (Managing Editor) and Tania Yardley.

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