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