The Independent VoiceMay 2009 1

Our Profession - 90 Years Union StrongOur Profession - 90 Years Union Strong

Northern Territory celebrates May Day

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Shalom Christian College win celebrated

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Paid maternity leave delegations

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QIEU and QTU campaign for professional rates of payQIEU’s united campaign with our Queensland Teachers’ Union colleagues for professional rates of pay shares a common goal of ensuring that Queensland teachers do not remain amongst the lowest paid in the country.

Employees in the non-government sector sent a strong message on 18 May with workplace meetings in 550 Queensland non-government schools to draw attention to the public sector teachers’ strike in support of professional rates of pay.

QIEU members in these workplace meetings endorsed motions of support for their state school colleagues, congratulating them on their determination to take industrial action in the face of an

inadequate wage offer from the state government and committing to ongoing support for Queensland’s teachers.

Al though teachers in non-government schools could not take industrial action in these circumstances, they too are committeed to securing the best quality teaching and learning environments for Queensland students in the future.

Teachers in both non-government and state schools share a common goal of providing high quality education. High quality education relies on having high quality teachers; and professional rates of pay are urgently needed to continue to attract and retain these teachers to the profession. Without an adequate

commitment by the government to guarantee professional rates of pay, Queensland teachers will continue to face the long term prospect of being amongst the lowest paid teachers in the country. Remuneration levels need to be restored to more appropriate interstate comparison levels to recognise the crucial role of quality educators. Failure to win comparable rates with interstate wage outcomes would institutionalise Queensland as the low wage state for the next decade.

With the government so far failing to listen to its state school teachers to adequately ensure appropriate wages, there are significant implications for negotiations in the non-government education sector.

While it is in the employer’s interest to achieve professional rates of pay in current negotiations, to attract and retain quality staff, the employers in the non-government sector are clearly reluctant to go ahead of rates in the government sector.

Teachers in non-government schools, however, will not be tolerant of either intractable state sector negotiations nor of employers in the non-government sector hiding behind those negotiations to deny interstate benchmark rates.

There is now a strong collective voice of Queensland teachers across both government and non-government schools and that voice will be heard.

ABOVE: QIEU and QTU join together in support of professional rates of pay for Queensland teachers at the recent Labour Day march. To view additional photos of workplaces taking part in support of QTU’s action, please visit the QIEU website at www.qieu.asn.au

Journal of the Queensland Independent Education Union Volume 9 Number 3May 2009