School leaders need time Mr Rann

School leaders to take message to Parliament today

After being completely overlooked by the State Government’s EB offers in 2008, South Australian School Principals, Deputy Principals and Assistant Principals will take their concerns to the steps of Parliament today.

AEU Vice President Marcus Knill says that today’s message to the State Government is quite simply “schools need leaders and leaders need time”.

To demonstrate the huge workload that state school leaders experience, AEU members will display a large clock representing the hours that are worked over and above the 38 hour week.

Stay tuned for protest video.

AEU members ask Premier Rann for some Christmas cheer

AEU members to deliver Christmas Wish List to premier

AEU members will be at Victoria Square outside the State Admin Centre this morning to deliver a Christmas wish list to Mike Rann.

Reports later.

TAFE members take action

Fix it Mike, it's not too late

Public Meeting at Pasadena High School

Governing Council members, education workers, parents and community members attended a public meeting addressing the contentious funding model proposed by the State Government.

Representing DECS and speaking in favour of the model was Trevor Rogers from Maitland Area School.

Trevor argued that the DECS model is an improvement on the current Staffing Allocation Document but failed to mention that there is a total lack of industrial protection for staff and absolutely no base funding guarantee in their model.

Correna Haythorpe, President of the AEU, spoke about the realities of the proposed model. Her presentation was in stark contrast to that delivered by the DECS representative. She spoke of a model that among other things will see larger class sizes, loss of hours for School Services Officers, lack of workload protections and a reduction of leadership time.

Stay tuned for more.

AEU members protest at Parliament

Last Friday, the day after the AEU was ordered to call off stop-work action, around 3000 AEU members gathered on the steps of Parliament House to protest the government's successful application for orders in the Industrial Relations Commission late the night before.

A visit to Paul Caica

Mike Rann finally delivers on smaller class sizes

Schools across the State are virtually empty thanks to the State Government's last minute application for orders against the AEU.

Government attacks public educators, unions – RALLY 4pm TODAY!

From 4pm today, AEU members will be rallying on the steps of Parliament to protest the State Government's unprecedented decision to have orders made against public educators.Branch Executive is asking all AEU members to voice their anger at the State Government's insulting and arrogant move to have last minute orders made against Public Education workers.

An emergency rally has been called by Executive and will take place at 4pm today - outside normal school hours - on the steps of Parliament House. Parents, teachers, SSOs, TAFE lecturers, businessmen and women and people from all backgrounds have been contacting the union and media outlets in large numbers to comdemn the Government for it's actions.

The State Government has nailed their colours to the mast. They clearly have no intention of properly funding public education and are quite happy to attack the right for workers to strike.

The AEU is calling on all members and supporters of public education to come to Parliament at 4pm to tell Mike Rann that the Government's actions are unacceptable.

AEU receives orders in the Commission

AEU officers in the Industrial Commission

Principal and industrial officers were met by officers at the IRC this morning who held a silent protest at the Governments inability to provide an interim salary increase as yet.

The Government is seeking orders to prevent the AEU from taking industrial action tomorrow. The hearing continues.

Show of unity at Clovelly Park

Teachers and School Services Officers (SSOs) at Clovelly Park Primary stood together last Thursday to protest against the Rann Government's proposed funding model. Sub-branch Secretary Jennie-Marie Gorman said that AEU members and other staff at the school took part in a range of actions.

"Teachers supported our SSOs by encouraging them to only work their paid hours, to take their breaks and to not take work home with them."

The activities were not confined to Thursday, AEU members and supporters took action for most of the week.

"On Tuesday all staff were encouraged to wear purple as a sign of support and on the rally day all staff were asked to wear red. On Wednesday AEU members handed out leaflets about the EB and how it affects the SSO’s. On Thursday, five SSOs and five teachers from our site attended the protest at Parliament", says Jennie-Marie.

Jennie-Marie says it was great to have such strong suppport from non-SSOs at the site.

"Overall I think that the week brought our staff together with a common cause and a united front".

The Government's proposed funding model will see cuts to hours and jobs for SSOs who are crucial to the operation of our public schools.

SSOs from Stirling Nth Primary display their anger at SCRFM

As reported in previous postings, the State Government's Student Centred Resource Funding Model(SCRFM) will take jobs and hours away from SSOs. SSOs in small country schools will be most vulnerable. SSOs at Stirling North Primary, just outside of Port Augusta, used last Thursday's day of action to highlight the potential impact of the government's flawed model.

SSO Protest Today!

SSOs will protest on the steps of parliament at 4pm today. Read more here.

SSO Action Day this Thursday: Say No to Rann's Funding Model.

SSO members are reminded that the AEU has declared Thursday 13 November an SSO Day of Action.

All SSOs and other members in the metropolitan area are urged to gather at the steps of Parliament House this Thursday afternoon at 4.00pm.

The purpose of this protest action is to highlight the loss of SSO hours and jobs that will inevitably occur under the Student Centred Resource Funding Model (SCRFM), as well as the thousands of hours of unpaid overtime already worked by SSOs.

SSOs are particularly vulnerable under SCRFM because 63% of all SSOs are employed on a temporary or casual basis. The new Offer received on 10 November made no improvements to workload or job security for SSOs or any other AEU member.

SSOs are requested to wear red on Thursday and to attend the after school Parliament House rally. Bring placards, school banners, whistles and anything else to create noise.

SSOs in country districts will be organising a range of activities in their local communities to increase awareness in the general public of just how destructive SCRFM is for staff, schools and students.

Newsflash! New offer from Government arrives...

It will come as no surprise to AEU members that the latest government offer fails to hit the spot. In fact, it fails on all counts. The Student Centred Resource Funding Model remains intact and the salary offer still sits below the most recent CPI figures.

There are still no provisions in the offer which address workload, class size, Aboriginal education issues, Early Childhood leadership autonomy or a range of other matters laid out in the AEU's Claim for a New Agreement.

More information here

More photos from October 30 rally..

Photos: Matt Walker. Copyright 2008.

Video: AEU members protest funding model at parliament

Government funding model will strip schools of vital resources

Last night, members of the AEU placed boxes on the steps of Parliament House in Adelaide representing the funding cuts to around 200 of the 350 schools to lose out under the State Government's flawed funding model.

Photo: AEU delegates decide on further action

Check out the podcast below for member interviews from Thursday's delegates meeting.

AEU delegates signal ongoing action



AEU Rally (First Cut)

AEU Rally First Cut

AEU Metro Rally

Thousands deliver ultimatum to Rann Government - fix this or we go out until you do

Thousands of AEU members, along with members from the PSA and IEU, marched from the gates of Adelaide Oval to Parliament House today to protest the Rann Government's failure to offer public educators an adequate enterprise offer. Rallies were also held in nine country locations around the State (reports to follow).

In Adelaide, chants of "Workers united will never be defeated" and "Hey Hey Ho Ho, J-Lo's got to go" rang out as public educators marched up King William St to take their message to government.

Teacher Anni Castine attended the rally with her colleagues and says that the Rann Government needs to lift it's game. "The Government's offer is pitiful but it (today's rally) is not about salary, it's about the mismanagement of the education dollar. It's about a funding model that will take $100,ooo dollars out of our school budget and this means less opportunity for kids."

In her address to the crowd, AEU (SA) Branch President Correna Haythorpe told members that the new government offer fails on a number of fronts.

"This new offer fails to address concerns about the proposed new funding model and falls well short of nationally competitive salaries and conditions for South Australian education workers."

"It fails to provide adequate workload protections for all members and deregulates employment conditions, particularly for School Services Officers, Aboriginal Education Workers and Early Childhood Workers", she said.

AEU Branch Executive met earlier in the week and formally rejected the new offer from the Government.

Today's half-day strike is likely to be followed by further industrial action if the State Government does not come up with a better offer soon.

New offer from Government misses the mark

It seems the State Government's pockets are empty when it comes to public education after they made yet another poor offer to education workers today. 

Unfortunately, the Government has failed to make any serious improvements on their previous offers, which featured less-than-CPI salary increases and few contingencies to address the issues identified in the AEU's Claim for A New Agreement. 

Under the offer, South Australia's public education workers would remain the lowest paid in the nation and around 350 schools would be worse off under a new per capita funding model.

Click here for more

AEUPOD - TAFE EB matters & AEU delegates meeting

AEU members to vote on further industrial action

After three weeks of mediation in Industrial Relations Commission, AEU Branch Executive has voted to ballot members on further stop-work action. The State Government has failed to address key matters and is still intent on implementing a funding model that will see at least one in three public schools worse off.

Click play on the screen below to hear the AEU's new radio advertisements and an interview with Branch President, Correna Haythorpe on the outcome of today's meeting.

AEU launches new national campaign

The Australian Education Union has launched a new national campaign today calling for parents and teachers to work together to get more federal government funding for public schools.

As part of the campaign the union is rolling out a new television advertisement and website that will accompany local activities as teachers and the parents of Australia’s 2.2 million public school students join together to ensure the federal government invests more in public schools.

The campaign launch comes as a national survey of public school principals shows lack of funding is compromising the quality of education in public schools.

Click here to go to the campaign site.

Interim pay rise sought in the Commission

The Australian Education Union wants the state government to offer educators an interim wage rise as the Public Education Enterprise Bargaining process drags on.

October 1st marked 12 months since educators’ last wage rise, and 6 months since the expiry of the previous Agreement.
Click here for more.

Big Apple for our teachers means big trouble for Public Education

AEU (SA) Research Officer, Mike Williss, tells us why the Rudd-Gillard infatuation with the New York model is a threat to the provision of high quality public education in Australia.

Focus on Learning campaign reduces excess workload

AEU members around the State are forging ahead with initiatives to reduce excess workload by putting limitations on non-core tasks. The campaign is having a positive effect on curriculum delivery. South Australian students are benefiting from an increased focus on learning as teachers reduce many of the excessive bureaucratic burdens imposed by DECS and the State Government.

It is the role of the local AEU Sub-branch to discuss Focus on Learning initiatives that are most appropriate to their site and to implement where possible. The AEU does not endorse any activity which may negatively impact on student learning, which must remain a priority.

Below are some of the areas of work that AEU members around the State have identified for the campaign.

• Refusing to engage in new initiatives which relate to the implementation of the Future SACE (N.B This does not affect current senior secondary students, nor the Personal Learning Plans for Year 10s in 2009)
• Reporting of student data to DECS. (SACSA, DIAF etc.)
• Limiting staff meetings to one per week for a duration of no more than one hour
• Non-participation in after-hours training and development, unless agreed that it goes toward the required 37.5 hours
• Ensuring all staff receive at least one twenty minute break for eating of lunch.
• Ensuring that there are no reductions in NIT time (PAC meetings are not to be held in this time)
• SSOs and ECWs should not agree to work any unpaid overtime and any overtime work must be recorded as Timebank or Toil
• Adherence to DECS reporting policy, i.e. reporting to parents three times per year, of which two must be written.
• Limiting Parent/Teacher interviews to after-school, not going later than 5pm (for example)
• Non-participation in Panels that are scheduled beyond 4.30pm
• Holding pre-entry and transition meetings during normal working hours (preschools)
• Deferring DECS Annual Reports until March 2009. (These are not student reports)
• No fundraising activities out of hours
• Not spending own time and money on purchasing resources
• Refusing to implement new initiatives proposed by DECS
• Non-participation in DECS surveys
• Referring to current AEU policy which recommends against the use of Running Records as a means to 'test' literacy
• Non-participation in the under-resourced Premier's Reading Challenge
• Continuing with concerts, discos, graduations, field days, art exhibitions, open-nights, BBQs etc. but during to the school day
  
• Refusing to work in scheduled term breaks
  

AEU enters mediation with State Government

In this episode of AEUPOD we talk with AEU (SA) Branch President, Correna Haythorpe, about the AEU's decision to move into voluntary mediation with the State Government.

AEU postpones industrial action

Last night, AEU Branch Executive voted to postpone further industrial action as a show of good faith in the mediation process. The mediation with the State Government will take place on a daily basis from next Monday on. Click here to read more.

Future Education Forum

Click on this link to go to the new education blog "Future Education Forum".

Focus on Learning campaign rolls into action

With Branch Council unanimously endorsing the next stage of our campaign for Fair Pay, Fair Funding and a Fair Go for Public Education, workload protections are being implemented by AEU members around the State.

Click here for more information.

National: McMorrow report shows public schools underfunded

Reviewing the evidence: Issues in Commonwealth funding of government and non-government schools in the Howard and Rudd years by education policy and funding expert Dr.Jim McMorrow recommends an immediate investment of at least $1.5 billion to restore federal public school funding to 1996 levels in order to ensure equality of opportunity.

Click here for more information

Is Paul too busy for Public Education?

Two weeks ago, I wrote across to the Minister for Industrial Relations Paul Caica and requested a meeting with him to discuss EB issues. After receiving no response, I wrote again last Monday with the same request – a meeting to discuss a proposal for moving the parties closer together in position – again, no response! I followed this up with a phone call to his Chief of Staff to ask why there had not been a response and to reiterate my request for a meeting.

Today we rang his office again and finally received a response. NO MEETING! Apparently the parties are “poles apart” and we need to take our issues up with the Government negotiating team. Well, this is the same group of people who have managed to work their way into a full on industrial dispute with education workers. The same group of people who have brought us SCRFM (the Student Centered Resource Funding Model) and the same people who sit across from our team week after week and say “ it is a package deal; there is no money for that; that is a policy matter not an EB issue; we’ll take that on notice; and so on.

I have to question why Minister Caica cannot spare half an hour of his time to discuss EB issues. It just might be the turning point for our negotiations. You have to ask why he would decline a meeting request that might avert the need for our members to take further industrial action. AEU Branch Executive was holding their meeting at the time of his message and was astounded at his refusal. They have endorsed a recommendation which takes this issue up with Premier Rann as a matter of urgency and I will follow this up by writing across tomorrow. Let's hope that this letter will not also go unanswered.

A government which does not respond to its constituents is a government in danger of losing the next election.

In solidarity

Correna

For those of you with YouTube access...

I don't suppose Miss Foley is related to our Kevin...

Click here to watch the video.

AEU members rally in the Riverland

Among the thousands to rally across the State last week were AEU members in the Riverland. AEU Organiser Marg Bastian said the turn out was fantastic and members were very committed to the action. "Hundreds of AEU members and supporters of public education rallied outside Karlene Maywald’s office demanding a fair go for public education. Everyone in attendance signed a letter which was presented to the staff in her office. There was plenty of discussion about the funding model and how that will affect schools in the area. The members are very concerned about the Government's proposed model and are committed to opposing it."

The Bunyip reports on rolling stoppages

Click here to read an article from The Bunyip, Gawler's weekly newspaper.

Victor Harbor Rally

Schools all around the State closed last week as AEU members protested against the Rann Government's failure to produce an adequate enterprise offer. Click here to read the article from The Times.

Pictures from last week's rolling stoppages

Stoppages roll on...

Click here to read Nan Berrett's report on the rally at Ennis Park in Clare.

Rally at Mike Rann's Office

Correna Blogs...

Well, members, today a couple of thousand people took their message to Premier Rann only to discover that he wasn’t at home! We can only imagine that he had much more important things to do. Perhaps he was meeting with Minister Paul Caica and telling him to sort out the EB mess?

Anyway, despite the rain, it was great to see our sea of red and feel the energy of member action. A number of members made great comments to the media and these were played on the various news services earlier tonight. Talkback radio today was also very interesting, with lots of debate about the government's proposed funding model. It was good to finally have these issues debated in earnest on the airwaves.

Minister Caica announced that today was “the union’s day for comment”. After the meeting last week, Jack, Marcus, Anne and I left with the impression that Paul would brief himself on the issues and that we might see some shift in the entrenched position of the state government sometime soon. Their silence today seems to indicate that resolving our dispute is not high on their agenda.

I guess once the government has few more good news stories – like the announcement of a desalination plant – there might be some room in Premier Rann’s Cabinet meetings for the 14,000 AEU members who deserve a far better deal than the one currently on the table.

Our actions continue right across the state this week so that we can inform people about the inadequate pay and conditions on Offer and to articulate the major problems with the proposed Student Centred Resource Funding Model.

It seems to me that there is an obvious way forward for negotiations; Minister Caica needs to appoint some senior advisors to the negotiating team as it's just far too difficult to negotiate with people who have no understanding of the day to day realities faced by our members.

The solution is quite simple. Give us someone to talk to Paul!

Members, keep up the outstanding support and we'll see you at the next rally.

In solidarity,


Correna

Meeting with the Minister

Each week, AEU (SA) Branch President Correna Haythorpe will post her thoughts and experiences around the EB to this blog. Her first post comes directly after a meeting with new IR Minister Paul Caica...

This afternoon, Marcus, Anne, Jack and I met with the new Industrial Relations Minister Paul Caica, to brief him on EB progress or lack thereof. We took the opportunity to raise our concerns about outstanding matters including:

• the lack of relevant schooling experience on the DECS negotiating team (get someone with some experience on the team!)
• the tardiness in providing the AEU with detailed information when requested
• the impact of the proposed Student Centred Resource Funding Model (SCRFM) and what this will mean for our schools
• the importance of maintaining the industrial protections enshrined in our agreement
• national salary movements and where our members expect to be positioned on the salary scale (certainly not on or near
the bottom!)
• our willingness to shift in discussions on matters such as paid maternity leave
• the absolute necessity that the government bring the EB debate back to our pay and conditions and not use our EB to
defund our schools

The discussion was constructive, however, Minister Caica did not offer any commitment to provide us with a new offer in the near future. The State Government has a very small window of opportunity if they wish to avert next week’s rolling stoppages.

The AEU needs to see a commitment from Minister Caica to: bargain in good faith; remove the Student Centred Resource Funding Model from their offer; and to start talking to us about salaries in the range of $75,000 for Step 8 (the new national benchmark), before any consideration could be given to calling off the stoppages. Anything less is just insulting to the education workforce in SA. We made this very clear to Minister Caica and now the ball is in his government’s court. So, now we will wait and see what the next few days bring to the EB debate.

In solidarity,


Correna.

TAFE Offer still falls short

On 23 July the AEU received a revised TAFE EB offer which came as a bit of a surprise given that TAFE EB negotiations were scheduled for the following day.

While there have been a couple of minor changes that reflect concerns that had been raised by the AEU in previous negotiations, our advice is that the offer is still inadequate and therefore unacceptable. You can view the new TAFE EB offer here

AEU members speak on rolling stoppages

Governing Councils PowerPoint: Schools

This presentation is published by the AEU Without Prejudice

Click here to download the presentation from our website.

Governing Councils PowerPoint: Preschools

This presentation is published by the AEU Without Prejudice.

Click here to download this presentation from our website.

AEU Welcomes New IR Minister

The Australian Education Union has welcomed the appointment of Paul Caica as Industrial Relations Minister.
AEU State President Correna Haythorpe hopes he’ll bring a new, constructive approach to the Public Education Enterprise Bargain process.

“This appointment represents a Minister who understands industrial processes.”

“As a former union official, Mr Caica has genuine, first hand experience in negotiating.”

“We’re quietly confident his experience can re-energise the government’s approach to the bargaining process and that he’ll understand the challenges facing the Public Education sector and its workforce.

“We will be seeking a meeting with Mr Caica at his earliest opportunity – and hope resolution of the Education Agreement will be his first achievement in this portfolio” Ms Haythorpe says.

Protest in Prospect - Tomorrow!

Our community campaign for Fair Pay, Fair Funding and a Fair Go for public education will see members gathering at the office of Education Minister Jane Lomax-Smith tomorrow. We invite all supporters of public education to attend.

Where: 84 Prospect Rd, Prospect, Office of Jane Lomax-Smith MP.
When : Thursday 17th July, 10.30am sharp.

You may ask why we would rally at Jane’s office…

Despite holding the education portfolio, Minister Jane Lomax-Smith has been conspicuously absent from much of the discussion around our Enterprise Bargaining process. This is of grave concern to the AEU as we believe it’s her duty to promote public education as part of her ministerial portfolio.

AEU members have every right to expect that our Minister would be lobbying on our behalf as part of the EB negotiations. Sadly, this does not seem to be the case. To date, our Minister has promoted EB matters which the AEU believes will significantly disadvantage schools and preschools, such as the proposed Student Centred Resource Funding Model. We can only assume that this is because she has been poorly advised by the Department of Education and Children’s Services as to the impact of this model.

The AEU’s analysis shows that this proposal will:

• create winners and losers with one in three schools facing significant funding cuts

• increase class sizes

• deregulate SSO hours and reclassification structures and have implications for permanency conversions, reclassification and placement.

• increase face to face teaching for Student Counsellors and Teacher Librarians

• reduce the decision making capacity of the Personnel Advisory Committee

• increase workload pressures for leadership

• not quarantine Aboriginal funding

Recently, the AEU met with Ministers Wright, Lomax-Smith and Caica to discuss our frustration at the lack of progress in the negotiations so far, and to impress upon them the need to reach an Enterprise Agreement which will be beneficial to all public education workers in South Australia. Minister Wright facilitated this meeting and the AEU was able to raise our concerns about EB negotiations.

These negotiations will continue and tomorrow’s rally is an important part of our community awareness campaign.

We must ensure that Minister Lomax-Smith plays an active role in lobbying on behalf of public education workers and students. At the rally we will be delivering a signed letter to the Minister which outlines the way in which we expect this to occur.

Make sure your voice is heard tomorrow.

Bring your friends and family. We hope to see you there.

Rally at Michael Wright's Office

AEU Metro Rally | June 17th 2008

All Photos by Philip Griffin ©

AEU EB Update...

AEU (SA) Branch President, Correna Haythorpe, speaks about some of the issues being discussed as negotiations with the State Government continue.

Keep the Pressure On! Holiday Protest Action

We invite you and your friends to attend two school vacation protest activities to show your support for a strong, vibrant and properly resourced public education system in South Australia.

Rally at Industrial Affairs Minister Michael Wright's Electorate Office, Shop 4, 173-177 Tapleys Hill Road, Seaton at 10:30 am on Monday 7 July.

Rally at Education Minister Jane Lomax-Smith's Electorate Office, 84 Prospect Road, Prospect at 10:30 am on Thursday 17 July.

Please bring your banners, placards, friends and family to protest the unfunded, unfair and unworkable Enterprise Bargaining offers for preschool, schools and TAFE.

P.S Don't forget to subscribe to AEUPOD: Go to the iTunes link on the right of this page.

AEUPOD Episode 12 - Negotiations continue...

AEU Stop Work Vodcast

Coming Soon: AEU Metro Rally Video

Come back soon for the video from Tuesday's rally in the city. Below: more photos from Tuesday's statewide rallies.

Country members rally for public education

AEU members in the country took part in yesterday's full-day stoppage by marching and rallying in their local communities. Yesterday's action came about because State Government negotiators have been unable to provide a fair and reasonable enterprise offer to South Australian educators.

In Whyalla, Berri, Mount Gambier, Port Augusta, Port Pirie and as far away as the APY Lands, AEU members sent a clear message to the State Government that they want to negotiate a better offer with decision makers rather than bureaucrats with little experience or understanding of the roles educators perform.

AEU members bring city to a standstill...

Around 8,000 AEU members marched from Rymill Park to Parliament House today in what must be the largest rally in the city since 100,000 hit the streets to protest the War in Iraq. Check out some footage and a report from Advertiser Education reporter Lucy Hood here.

Stay tuned for more video, photos and reports from today's rally.

(Photo: Philip Griffin)

Advertiser online readers voting in favour of stop work action

Adelaide Now, the online site for the Advertiser, is running a poll today on the AEU's stop work action. The vote so far shows that there is strong community support for the action - 61 percent in favour!

Click here to cast your vote.

AEU Stop Work Rally Ad

Statewide stoppage, rally and march

Despite media reports saying the AEU will "defy orders from the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC)" and proceed with the planned stop work on Tuesday, we have neither received any orders or stated that we will defy them. The AEU Stop Work will go ahead as planned. See below for details

Members are encouraged to join in solidarity with their union colleagues on Tuesday 17 June to let the State Government know that their Enterprise Bargaining Offer is unacceptable to education employees and potentially disastrous for South Australian students.

Assemble at Rymill Park (East Parklands adjacent to Grenfell Street at 10.15 am for a 10.45 am march to Parliament House.

Click here for information on country rallies and activities for those unable to attend the Adelaide metro rally.

Schools to be worse off

Click here for link to ABC News article.

New offer no better, adds insult to injury

AEU Executive met late this afternoon, rejecting the new offer from the State Government noting that they have done little to address the problems in the original enterprise offer. Ministers Wright and Lomax-Smith have announced that they will take the AEU to the Industrial Relations Commission to prevent the stop work action planned for this Tuesday. Good luck to them both!

It's only in the last few days that the Education Minister, Jane Lomax-Smith, has bothered to involve herself in the EB process, just days before we plan to take industrial action. Educators, non-teaching staff, parents, students and children in South Australia should be alarmed that the Minister charged with managing the state's public education system has only just involved herself in negotiations that have been underway since the beginning of the school year.

The AEU has called on the Premier Mike Rann to intervene and ensure that public education in South Australia is properly funded so that preschool, school and TAFE educators can continue to provide high quality educational experiences to our students.

Click here to read the press release.

Government offer all at sea

South Australian students are lucky enough to have access to world's best practice when it comes to swimming and aquatics instruction. Programs run by South Australian instructors are internationally recognised, yet after thirty years they are still not covered by any formal award conditions. Members met last week to discuss the government offer and how it relates to Swimming & Aquatics. Read the short report here.

Foley's Budget fails South Australian students...

Kevin Foley's seventh State Budget has handed millions of dollars in tax breaks to South Australian business while almost completely ignoring the educational needs of South Australian students.

The ALP continued it's love affair with corporate South Australia by announcing massive reductions in payroll tax and increased investment opportunities for the private sector. The business community is set to save around $600 million this coming financial year while many essential services were largely ignored in what Mike Rann is calling a "terrific budget".

The Premier said it was "time to step up to the plate" and build the infrastructure to support the state's mining boom. How about stepping up to the plate to support public education Mr Rann?

Of course, hitting home runs for business is much higher on this government's agenda. Click here to read the AEU's press release.

AEUPOD - State Budget interview with Correna Haythorpe

In case you missed today's Advertiser...

The front page of today's Advertiser featured this story from Education writer Lucy Hood. The Advertiser also ran a phone and an online poll. As at 10.58pm the online poll results look like this:








The State Government's inability to make teaching an attractive career aside, it's nice to know that the general public are smart enough to see the problems. They are obviously a well-educated bunch!

AEU Metro Rally - 16th May 2008

AEU Branch Council endorses stop work actions...

Around 140 delegates from around the state voted unanimously to stop work on June 17th after the government failed to provide a new and improved offer by the May 28 deadline. Click here to read the press release.

AEU releases Federal Budget Report

Click here to download Federal Research Officer Jenni Devereaux's report on the 2008 Federal Budget.

WorkCover - a little piece of history...

For those who have access to YouTube, here's Mike Rann talking to workers in 1995.

WorkCover Protest at Kevin Foley's Office

Branch Council to consider industrial action..

It's been exactly two months since the expiration of the previous agreement and a new and improved offer from the government appears nowhere in sight. AEU SA Branch President Correna Haythorpe says industrial action will be considered at this weekend's State Council. Click here to download the press release.

Café 43 - Public Ed skilling our youth for the future

Three-thousand-plus create sea of red in Adelaide

Despite terrible weather conditions on Friday night, around 3000 AEU members and supporters occupied the steps, footpath and a lane of North Tce at the front of Parliament House to protest against the State Government's insulting enterprise offer to education workers.

Although we prefer to bring you videos of a shorter duration, we have uploaded the full 12 minute speech given at the rally by AEU SA Branch President Correna Haythorpe. This has been requested by some members who couldn't make it on the night.



Coming soon on AEUPOD: AEU members rally on the steps of Parliament - video footage from last Friday's rally in Adelaide and Café 43: Penola High serves the community.

Over 1000 rally in the country - Parliament is next...

Over the past two days around 1000 AEU members plus parents, students and supporters of public education have rallied in South Australia's country centres to protest against the State Government's enterprise offer.

Independent Education Union sends message of support...

Colleagues,

Your campaign emphasises that there is more that unites our unions than divides us.

Governments are all too willing to dump social and political expectations on schools as a quick fix but are reluctant to foot the bill.

Flagpoles, A to E reporting, drug education, financial literacy, sex education, fitness, obesity, employability skills ... and the list goes on

Top quality education is every student's right.

Top quality education cannot be delivered by simply overloading and undervaluing the teaching and non-teaching staff who are charged with delivering it.

We have top class people struggling against the odds to deliver top class education.

They do not deserve the lowest pay rates in the country.

They need to have a career structure which attracts the brightest and the best - and retains them - and values them.

You need facilities and conditions that give you an even chance of being able to go home tired at night with some comfort that you made a difference.

The IEU joins with our colleagues in the AEU in the struggle to get proper recognition for the profession from the employer of two thirds of the education staff in SA.

If this job is worth doing it is worth doing well.

If it is worth doing well it is worth the recognition and resourcing to allow it to be done well.

Mike Rann - you have shafted workers with your WorkCover changes - don't do the same to our education workers.

That is adding insult to injury.

Glen Seidel

IEU Secretary

AEU rallies this week...

Educators in Victoria only achieved their recent pay increase through political action. Thousands of their members and supporters took to the streets and filled Vodafone Arena to protest against the State Government's insulting EB offer. Now it's time for South Australian educators, parents and working people to do the same! Let's hit the streets and show the State Government that we want Fair Funding, Fair Pay and a Fair Go for public education.

Rallies have been organised in country areas and in the city. Here are the details:

WEDNESDAY 14 MAY
Mount Gambier – 5.00pm Cave Gardens Reserve (outside Robert Helpmann Theatre)
Port Lincoln – 5.00pm Stage at foreshore (opposite Post Office)
Port Augusta – 4.30pm Gladstone Square

THURSDAY 15 MAY
Berri – 4.30pm Office of Karlene Maywald MP, 13 Kay Avenue
Whyalla – 4.30pm Office of Lyn Breuer MP, Nicolson Avenue, Westlands
Port Pirie – 5.00pm Ellen Street (New playground)

FRIDAY MAY 16TH
Adelaide - City - 4.30pm Steps of Parliament House (Drinks and nibbles afterwards at The Ambassador Hotel, King William St.)

N.B Rain is expected on Friday but don't be deterred. Regardless of the weather, we need a big turn out to show the State Government that public educators will not be treated with contempt. Bring your brolly and we will have AEU poncho's to help you stay dry.

AEU Officers & Members Protest WorkCover Reforms

Vic Teachers now highest paid means SA the lowest!

The Victorian Branch of the AEU has reached an 'in principle' agreement with the Brumby State Government which, provided the membership votes in favour of the deal, will make them the highest paid teachers in the country. Australian Education Union Victorian Branch President, Mary Bluett said the in principle agreement was a significant win for teachers, principals and school communities across the state.

"Today's outcome includes significant salary increases for Victorian teachers and improvements to the contract system of employment, to maximise the number of ongoing employees and provide greater financial security for teachers employed on contracts," Ms Bluett said.

Like the AEU's Claim in South Australia, a core component of the Victorian Claim dealt with the attraction and retention of quality educators.

"The focus of the AEU throughout this negotiation period has been to deliver an outcome that increased our ability to attract quality teachers to the profession and to retain teachers in Victorian public schools," said Ms Bluett.

Ms Bluett said the agreement included:

- Significant salary increases, which will make Victorian teachers the highest paid in the nation.

- A one off bonus of $1000 for most teachers and $2000 for principals.

- Improvements in the contract system of employment to maximise the number of ongoing employees and to provide greater financial security for teachers employed on contracts

- No loss of holidays and no loss of pupil free days, however a change to the configuration of the pupil free days. No more than three before the start of the student school year, with the capacity to vary one of these with the agreement of the employer.

- A restatement of existing Department regulation that requires 300 minutes of pupil instruction per day or 25 hours per week.

- The bringing forward of 210 Teacher Assistants to the start of the 2009 school year, with further discussions about expanding the program in subsequent years.

The three year agreement will be effective as of May 11 2008, subject to the agreement being ratified by AEU members and then a ballot of the Victorian Teaching Service.

If this deal between the Victorian State Government and the AEU is completed, it will mark the culmination of a long, hard-fought campaign and – given our government's insulting offer – is perhaps indicative of what lies ahead for AEU members here in South Australia.

Along with a range of conditions that will help teachers continue to provide the highest quality curriculum delivery, our Claim unashamedly seeks increases to salaries which are now the lowest in the nation. South Australia cannot afford to lag behind the other States when it comes to teachers salaries. Victoria has lost a large portion of its graduate teachers to schools overseas and states like Western Australia who have been forced to recruit from outside the of their own state borders in to counter massive teacher shortages.

As part of our ongoing campaign for fair pay, fair funding and a fair go for public education, the SA Branch of the AEU will be holding a number of after-school rallies in the coming weeks. The rallies are scheduled at this time so that minimum disruption is caused to students and parents. We urge everyone who has an interest in ensuring South Australian children receive the best in public education to attend. Watch this blog and check with your Sub-branch Secretary for further details.

Ed.

Blog Unblocked by DECS...

After a few phone calls and emails to DECS, our blog has finally been unblocked in schools. If you experience any trouble accessing the blog or any of it's links in your school, please email us at journal@aeusa.asn.au

Cheers.

AEU Executive Rejects Government Offers...

The AEU Executive last night unanimously rejected the Government’s offers to the Education and TAFE sectors as “inadequate, insulting and inept”. AEU President Correna Haythorpe says the offers were condemned for failing to address the basic needs of the public education system. Click here to read our press release.

Teachers Stop Work in Victoria

Click here to read the Herald Sun's report on the EB dispute in in Victoria.

May Day March

Starting at 10am on Saturday May 3rd, this year's May Day March will culminate in a mini-festival on the Barr Smith lawns at the University of Adelaide. There will be a bouncy castle and performances by the Ticklish Allsorts for kids, great food and a few speeches from members of the union movement.

This year's rally will also be focussing on the disgraceful WorkCover legislation being pushed through parliament by the State Government. These reforms should be of major concern to all working people in South Australia. Not unlike the Howard Governments WorkChoices legislation, the proposed WorkCover changes will take away many of the protections that have been fought for and won by the union movement over the years.

So, bring the family into town on Saturday May 3rd to support this important day for the working people of South Australia. Look out for the AEU banner at Victoria Square.

We recommend cheap parking nearby at the Central Market. It's only a few dollars for 2 hours. Hope to see you there on May 3rd. Click here to download the May Day flyer for distribution to your email contacts.

Win an Around the World Trip!

APHEDA, the ACTU's overseas humanitarian aid agency, is giving away some great prizes in their 2008 Raffle Click here find out how you can get your tickets.

State Government Offer Misses the Mark

In what can only be seen as a slap in the face for our highly trained public school educators, the offer tabled by the State Government today fails to address a large portion of the AEU's Claim for A New Agreement. Click here to download a synopsis of the offer.

'Chalkies' Returns

The hit show which had teachers rolling in the aisles, wowing sellout crowds at Maxim's Wine Bar in the 2008 Adelaide Fringe, will enjoy a return season at Holden Street Theatres from Friday to Sunday, April 18-20 and 25-27 at 8 p.m.

Produced by Matt Byrne, Chalkies received rave reviews during the 2008 Fringe Season.

"Chalkies is a school excursion well worth a forged permission slip: A+" - ATG.

"Top of the class! A+." - db Magazine

One teacher summed it up on the TalkFringe website:

Jan wrote: "The chalkies team had Friday's full house in fits of laughter from start to finish. I'm a teacher and these guys nailed it. Wonderful!"

Bookings can be made through Venue Tix on 8225 8888

TAFE Offer on the table..

On Thursday the State Government presented a TAFE offer to AEU Industrial Officers at a negotiation session. Click here for the AEU's response and to download a copy of the Offer and accompanying Salary Schedule.

Hands Up for TAFE

Click here to read the latest edition of the AEU's Parliamentary Brief Hands Up which has been distributed to all ALP members of the House of Reps and Senate.

It's March 31st and still no offer...

Time Running Out for Education Deal

The AEU has put the State Government on notice by saying that Public Education will be its next big industrial battleground if a new Enterprise Agreement isn’t settled by the end of the month. Click here to download today's press release.

SA Unions Launches WorkCover Campaign

It's almost a week since State Labor introduced it's anti-worker WorkCover reforms into State Parliament and much like Adelaide's weather at the moment, the issue is running hot.

Having resigned from the WorkCover Board prior to the introduction of the ALP's legilsation, SA Unions Secretary Janet Giles has gone on the offensive by vowing to strengthen the campaign until the WorkCover legislation is fair for all workers.

"It's very important that we make sure that everybody takes responsibility for this current scheme and not just attack injured workers' pay packet," she said in an interview with Adelaide's Channel Seven today.

Ms Giles says that Labor is hoping to rush the legisalation through parliament in an attempt to deny workers the chance to have their voice heard on the matter.

"The State Government has been in our view confrontational with the public, with injured workers and with unions over this matter, they haven't done what they would normally do which is sit down and consult and discuss about matters," she said.

The WorkCover reforms proposed by the Rann Government are essentially an attack on working people in order to reduce levies for business. It's also important to remember that these reforms affect every worker in South Australia. Any one of us could be injured whilst at work so it's important that the SA Unions campaign is widely supported. Stay tuned for further updates on the WorkCover swindle and SA Unions campaign.

Click here to listen to the first of two radio ads being run by SA Unions from today onwards.

Click here to listen to another.

The Global Assault on Teaching, Teachers & Their Unions

Increasingly, public education’s character is under assault. This collection of essays by noted scholars, teacher activists, and teacher union leaders from around the world fuses personal stories, research, and political analysis, explaining why such profound and damaging changes are being made to schools and teaching, and how teachers, their unions, and supporters of public education can make real the goal of quality education for all the world’s children.

Click here for more information on the book and a pre-order form.

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Welcome to Our EB Blog...

Welcome to the AEU's EBA portal. On this page we'll update you with the latest on enterprise bargaining negotiations through text, audio and video.

Check out the blog often. Tell your colleagues about it and feel free to comment on the posts. Comments will be moderated and published unless deemed inappropriate by the editor.

You can subscribe to our podcast by clicking on the iTunes logo on the right of the page. Click on the orange 'subscribe' button to receive our RSS newsfeed.

The blog won't just be EB focussed, we'll also add other material that we think may be of interest to our members and the community.


Ed.

Teach for Australia: Pearson's Flawed Plan

AEU (SA) Research Officer Mike Williss contributed an excellent article on Noel Pearson's flawed 'Teach for Australia' scheme in this month's AEU Journal. Click here to download in case you missed it in the Journal.

Hip hip...New Educators Network turns 10...

The New Educators Network (NEN) is celebrating it's 10th anniversary this year and we're throwing a big party!

For more information, click here to read our first New Educators Newsletter for 2008. You can also access the Newsletter and other NEN information, including a great 'Survival Guide' by clicking here.

If you're in your first three years of teaching and you're not already a member of the NEN, there's no better time to join. Our 10th Anniversary Conference and party is coming up very soon. Don't miss out on all the NEN has to offer you in your first few years of teaching.

About this blog...