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