Schools Offer -- Sky Channel 10 June Speeches

PSA meetings of School Assistants and Senior School Assistants

Sue Walsh Speech

We have arranged these meetings today at many locations across the state to speak to you about an offer we have received from the Department of Education and Training for School Assistants and Senior School Assistants.

In the year 2000, the PSA ran a work overload campaign. This was successful. It led to the then Director General, Jan McClelland, requesting the PSA's involvement in a review of the work of School Assistants and Senior School Assistants.

The review was to address work overload issues and also evaluate the duties performed by these classifications.

After working for many years to secure salary justice for these positions, the PSA welcomed the Department's invitation. This review has been ongoing for four years and has now led to an offer from the Department.

At first, the Department advised it was not financially in a position to make an offer. This was unacceptable. Your delegates met and rejected the Department's position and endorsed a campaign of industrial action.

Members were directed to impose bans, to withdraw goodwill towards the Department and to work to rule within their statements of duty.

Such was the level of anger and frustration that a meeting of the PSA's Review Steering Committee Executive on 12th March recommended an unprecedented three day strike and a mass rally outside the Department's Head Office in Sydney.

On 15th March, the Department lodged a dispute in the Industrial Relations Commission in response to the proposed industrial action.

When the parties appeared in the Industrial Relations Commission, Justice Schmidt recommended that:

1. The PSA take all reasonable steps to ensure that all existing and threatened industrial action be immediately removed; and
2. the senior representatives of the parties meet and attempt to resolve the issues.

The Department and the PSA met later that afternoon. During the meeting, the Department indicated that Treasury may provide some funding and the Department would develop a proposal for consideration by the PSA.

An offer of $14.8 million in funding was subsequently presented to the PSA. Clearly, the threat of industrial action had forced the Department to dramatically reconsider its position.

The Department further improved the offer by allocating $17 million to fund salary increases, with an extra $8 million for additional staffing for the next financial year.

That is, the Department is offering a three-year award for school assistants and senior school assistants. The offer is $67 million over three years. This includes $17 million a year for 3 years to fund the salary increases together with $16 million for additional staffing. This funding is on-going.

In addition to this award, part of the offer is to continue the current additional staffing and convert it, along with the GST and corporate data allocations, to permanent hours. These hours will be part of the staffing formula.

This offer was not won easily. As we have reported, the PSA had been pursuing full recognition of the current roles of and duties performed by School Asisstants and Senior School Assistants.

The Department also wanted to change your duties to include many of the principal's responsibilities, namely the supervision of all non-teaching staff, responsibility for the implementation of the building maintenance program and also responsibility for occupational health and safety at the school.

The Department could not get the money to fund these changes so the proposed increases are for the current hours and work performed by School Assistants and Senior School Assistants.

The PSA wrote to the Department setting out the minimum conditions that must be met before the offer would be considered and put before meetings of members.

The conditions included:

• that the Department agree that the offer is part settlement only and full implementation remain a matter for ongoing negotiations.

• That the implementation occur from 1 July, 2004.

• That a joint PSA and DET award restructure implementation committee be established to implement the outcomes of the review.

• That School Assistants and Senior School Assistants receive all and any other salary increases arising from the PSA award which is now before the Industrial Relations Commission.

• Current staff will be directly appointed to the new classifications. That is current School Assistants will move to Grade 2, Admin Officers and current Senior School Assistants will be Grade 3 Admin Managers. This will commence July 1 this year.

I will now pass you over to PSA Assistant General Secretary, Steve Turner, who will explain the Department's offer in more detail.

Steve Turner Speech

Good morning members. My name is Steve Turner and I am Assistant General Secretary of the PSA.

The Department have made an offer to increase salaries for School Assistants and Senior School Assistants of between 5.7% and 7.4%. This is an interim measure only in part settlement of the PSA's claim.

The offer is in essence a career structure package for School Assistants and Senior School Assistants as part of a new Crown Employees (School Administrative and Support Staff) Award.

If accepted the award will take effect from 1 July 2004.

As Sue mentioned, the proposed award will deliver a substantial funding Boost $17 million this year, and $25 million per year for staffing and salary increases thereafter.

As impressive as this figure is, it is only the first step in the implementation of the Review recommendations. It is also important to remember that the Department's offer is only part settlement of the PSA's claim. As such what is offered today will simply provide a strong platform for further negotiations and future enhanced benefits.

The Department is not seeking to increase hours. The offer for these pay rises is based on a 311/4 hour week. Working hours will remain the same.

The following structure for School Assistants and Senior School Assistants would be implemented in recognition of work value for the duties and responsibilities that are currently being undertaken.

New Grades

School Support Officer is a new position equivalent to the former position of Teachers Aide. The extra staff appointed next year will predominantly be in this grade.

Current vs New Grades

Most importantly, under the offer all existing staff would transfer directly across to the new structure from the first pay period on or after 1 July 2004, as shown in the Current vs New Grades table.

Under current Government policy, if jobs are regraded by more than 5% employees have to apply for their own job. Under this offer the PSA has won direct appointment for you.

All School Assistants will be transferred to Grade 2 and all Senior School Assistants will be transferred to Grade 3. The new salaries and gradings are:

New Gradings, Salaries & Increases

Note: The Grade 2 figure above is for staff on top of the School Assistant scale

The salaries of these positions are aligned to the Crown Employees Award and therefore receive any increases arising from the Crown Employees Salaries Award.

This means that you get this increase now and when the PSA wins its next general pay rise you will get that increase as well, on top of this offer. We are confident in getting an increase in line with the teachers' outcome.

To ensure the smooth transition of these changes and to establish an on going dialogue with the Department for the full implementation of the review proposals, an Award Restructuring Implementation Committee with representatives from the PSA and the Department is being established.

This Committee will work towards putting in place the full structure negotiated by the Review Committee. This includes increments for each grade therefore; if the PSA is successful in this negotiation there will be further increases again on top of this.

John Cahill Speech

Good morning members. My name is John Cahill and I am the General Secretary of the PSA.

The benefits of the offer before you today are, the PSA believes, abundantly clear; increased pay, increased staffing resources, potentially more secure employment for many members and long overdue recognition of the work value of School Assistants and Senior School Assistants.

And, as the implementation of the review outcomes are ongoing, there will be further benefits to come.

In addition, this offer is on top of all other pay increases the PSA has won.

Over the last four years, the PSA achieved increases of 17 percent. Over 9 percent of this was paid in 2003. The PSA has now lodged a case in the Industrial Relations Commission for a 25 percent increase.

This is the same amount claimed in the recent teachers case where they were given an interim increase of 5.5 percent, and a final decision is expected shortly. The PSA is determined to match this in our case.

The increases we are talking about today are over and above any increases in our general salaries case. The teachers won 5.5 percent in the Industrial Relations Commission. The increases we are talking about today range from 5.7 to 7.4 percent, and are as a result of your support for the industrial action we have undertaken over the last few years.

I would like to just quickly talk about the environment we are in. The Government is telling everyone that its broke. Many of the Departments the PSA looks after have had their funding cut. This could potentially lead to job losses which the PSA is fighting.

Within this environment the PSA has achieved the offer which is before you today, which will provide an increase of $25 million per year in extra staff and increased salaries.

The benefits are as follows:

• over 9 percent in increases last year;
• an average increase of 6.5 percent this year;
• when the PSA is successful in its wage claim, that increase will flow to you as well. The PSA is hopeful that we will have that increase this year;
• each and every member will be directly appointed to the new job without having to apply;
• there will be an increase in staffing forever in all schools;
• through the Award Restructuring Committee, the PSA hopes to achieve incremental levels in each of these grades and you will have the chance to also receive these increments.

The increases in pay and staffing, along with the other benefits involved, while substantial, are only interim measures.

Members will be directly appointed to the new positions and will receive the coming benefits of the PSA's claim under the Crown Employees Salaries Award in addition to the Department's offer.

We have also established a strong platform for future negotiations which the Department has agreed will see even greater benefits in the future.

From any perspective, it is a very attractive offer, and I recommend it to you.

I will now hand you back to Sue Walsh who will speak to you about the recommendation before you today.

Sue Walsh - Recommendation

Thank you John. The recommendation before you today from the delegates on the Schools Departmental Committee is:

That members accept the offer as part settlement of the PSA's claims and that the PSA continue negotiations to implement the Review outcomes. I will re-cap the offer:

• Salary increases of between 5.7% and 7.4%
• New grades and classification titles
• Direct appointment to new grades
• Additional staffing in all schools
• Establishment of a Joint Committee to continue the implementation of the Review outcomes

No amendments to the motion can be accepted [Everybody across the state has to vote on the same motion.] A YES or NO vote is all that is required.

The PSA strongly recommends that members support the motion and accept the Department's offer.

At the conclusion of this broadcast, the convenor of your meeting will put the motion to a vote and ring the result through to the PSA's Head Office in Sydney. Members will be advised of the result by way of a bulletin this afternoon.

We thank you for your attendance this morning.

Outcome of vote

Over 90% of the School Assistants and Senior School Assistants voted in favour of the offer. Our attendance records indicate 88% of our members in those classifications attended the meetings, a huge turnout by any measure.

Further items
Media release: "School Staff Accept Pay Increases"
Frequently Asked Questions on the Offer
SASS Staff Review - DET's "without prejudice" offer