Victorian Teachers Discussion: The new Agreement

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

The new Agreement - Your Comments

Please comment on this post - if you post links i will add them as posts.
Please leave your name (not compulsory but appreciated).....

4 comments:

Jacky Jack said...: Twice the general secretary of the state union has produced a result which suggests collusion with the state government - or incompetence in basic arithmetic

She needs to be replaced - she should resign if she senses that she does not represent the body of the union
The agreement on the table needs to be opposed by the rank and file teacher
The argument needs to move from wage rates (as the government sees it - to a public sector body - (that means the government sees us as a mass of employees, not professional educators improving the efficiency, outcome and lifestyle of the labour force and students in this country) to the value of education in this country
The argument needs to recognise the value of education that overseas governments have given in the last decade and the success of those countries and economies due to those specific governments' decisions; May 21, 2008 at 7:32 PM
Anonymous said...: Sent: Friday, 23 May 2008 3:02 PM
Subject: The truth about the Agreement
Dear AEU member

There is a considerable volume of material circulating through Edumail regarding the proposed Certified Agreement. Much of this material is urging members to vote No at the upcoming ratification meetings, starting on 2 June.
The ‘No’ material presents a variety of statistics which all purport that the proposed deal is no better than the government’s 3.25% offer. This is incorrect!
The following table shows what individuals actually receive as a result of the salaries component of the deal. The figures for status quo, the proposed agreement and the government offer (3.25%) all include increments, % increases and up-front payments where they are relevant – it compares apples with apples!
The first three columns indicate the total number of dollars that members receive in their hand, over three years as compared to their current salary. As you can see from the final column, everyone receives more dollars than the original government offer.
Importantly, as the proposed deal is front ended over the three years, members get the value of those increases immediately and then carry that value over the life of the agreement. Better to be in your pocket now than in the government’s coffers.
In addition to the salaries component significant gains have been made elsewhere:
substantial improvements for Contract teachers, including holiday pay
Enhanced Consultation including the allocation of responsibilities/jobs
Teacher Assistants to reduce workload
Mentor workload
Laptop discounts, adding to the financial gains already received
Long Service Leave gains
Guarantees around Leading Teacher numbers
A guaranteed salary increase in January 2012 if we don’t have a new Agreement by December 31, 2011 – no other union has this.
One thing that all the people proposing a No vote have failed to inform members about is what they propose to do if the proposed agreement is voted down.
The one issue that opponents gloss over is what happens if the Agreement is rejected. Members must be very clear - THERE WILL BE NO AGREEMENT.
The AEU and Department will return to our respective original positions and begin to negotiate on all issues again. The government will remove its current offer and we will have to begin our campaign, including industrial action, again.
This means that the government will again put back on the table all those things which we have campaigned against over the past sixteen months:
· 3.25% pay offer (with no restructure benefits or up-front payments)
· 6 days attendance during school holiday periods
· reduction in the number of pupil free days
· no improvements for contract teachers
· no reduction in lap-top lease costs
· no improvements to long service leave
· no improvements to the consultative processes in schools
and there are many more.
We also stand to lose one significant advantage - the community support which has been so strong throughout our campaign. The government will now be able to say what our opponents are saying we should reject - the majority of teachers do become the highest paid in the nation. It is unlikely we will be able to retain community support in light of this.
This deal does deliver differential outcomes for members, as previous agreements have. However, it clearly addresses key issues we have been pursuing around attraction and retention of teachers in the government system and contract teaching. It also delivers substantial pay rises and many other improvements for all AEU members.
Keep an eye out as we post more information on our website
www.aeuvic.asn.au/campaigns/schools_agreement_08/
Don’t be fooled by the misinformation – this is a good deal and one which deserves your support and the support of your sub-branch at the ratification meetings. Make sure you’re there to have your voice heard.
Yours sincerely
MARY BLUETT
Branch President; May 23, 2008 at 4:33 AM
Anonymous said...: Hi all,

I believe we need to vote this agreement down. To do so we need to spread the word regarding the realities of the agreement.

To this end I have made a couple of YouTube movies on the topic of the new agreement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtUU8ySC20s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb8m_6gddTY

The second one is a direct response to the claptrap from Bluett, posted above.

If you like them, PLEASE share them as widely as possible -- email them to every teacher you know who might be receptive!

cheers

DT; May 23, 2008 at 3:42 PM
Peter Curtis said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; June 14, 2008 at 5:02 PM

http://aeudiscussion.blogspot.com/

Do you support the Proposed Agreement ?

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

The new Agreement - Your Comments

4 comments:

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