Catholic systemic members vote in favour of the enterprise agreement
Following a long Hear Our Voice campaign, the results are in! Members in Catholic systemic schools have overwhelmingly voted in favour of the NSW and ACT Catholic Systemic Schools Enterprise Agreement 2023.
The strong yes vote – more than 99% – indicates to employers the massive support for the campaign. Participation in the ballot was higher than the previous two ballots. These results are something we should take collective pride in. Teachers and support staff will finally see significant pay increases.
What do the results mean?
Once the enterprise agreement is approved by the Fair Work Commission, the agreed increases and other gains achieved in the enterprise agreement will be enforceable. Many of these improvements are already in place, with most dioceses paying the NSW teacher pay rises in November.
The improvements include:
- teacher salary increases from October 2023 in NSW and from August 2023 in the ACT
- general employee salary increases of 6.5% and up to 20% over 12 months
- enhanced parental leave provisions
- improved evidence requirements for personal carer’s leave.
When does the agreement come into effect?
Catholic Employment Relations (CER) is now preparing the application to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for the agreement to be approved on behalf of the dioceses. This will be lodged within 14 days.
The enterprise agreement will come into force 7 days after the Fair Work Commission issues its decision to approve the EA.
What next?
While the IEU is proud of its achievements in these negotiations, we will continue to work with members, employers, and NESA to address the crippling workload issues which have contributed to the ongoing staff shortages across the profession.
Thank you for your support
This has been a protracted negotiation process and a long campaign. All members involved are to be congratulated for the resolve they displayed throughout the Hear Our Voice campaign. The historic gains achieved by determined Catholic systemic and government school union members are already flowing through to other sectors.
Please encourage your colleagues to join our union as we continue to fight for improvements to salaries and conditions in our profession.