On Friday, at the 11th hearing of our Enterprise Agreement Bargaining Dispute in Fair Work, TAFE NSW and the NSW Teachers Federation came to an agreement which would enable the TAFE Teachers and Related Employees Enterprise Agreement 2020 to be finalised.
The offer put to Federation was to implement the EA for one year only, so that it expires on Feb 3 2021, with an increase of just 0.3% to be retrospectively applied to salaries and allowances from the first pay period on or after 24 November 2019.
This arrangement can in no way be categorised as a good outcome; however, if agreed to by teachers and related employees in an upcoming ballot, will allow the EA, as negotiated back in March, to be implemented, with new and more certain paths to permanency for casual and temporary workers, and for Federation to continue to bargain for salary justice.
This offer is in line with the state government wages cap and the decision of the full bench of the Industrial Relations Commission in October this year.
This means teachers and related employees would get a very small lump sum payment – equivalent to 0.3% of salary from November last year and then a very slight increase in salary and allowances fortnightly going forward.
The offer was put to the TAFETA Council held on Friday afternoon (to which all members had been invited). Council recommended Federation accept the terms of the offer and that members should vote YES in the upcoming ballot.
The negotiated EA2020 is the same one endorsed by TAFETA members in March this year, but without the 2.5% salary increases and without the four-year operation.
Federation will hold workplace meetings to discuss with members, the terms of the EA and the strategies to take into the recommencement of bargaining in 2021.
Federation continues to pursue the injustice of our salaries as a result of the Berejiklian government unilaterally walking away from the agreement struck in March this year.