Queensland Catholic Education to reopen negotiations after failed staff EBA ballot

The state’s catholic schools are at odds after almost 40 campuses voted to accept a proposed new enterprise bargaining agreement, against their union’s advice.

The state’s catholic schools are at odds after almost 40 campuses voted to accept a proposed new enterprise bargaining agreement, against their union’s advice.

Among the schools who adopted the Catholic Education Commission’s offer were Brisbane colleges whose staff had previously participated in strikes against the proposed agreement.

All 23 Edmund Rice schools and all 16 Religious Institute schools in Queensland will push forward with their offer after 60 per cent of participating staff voted in favour.

Among these 39 schools were Marist College Ashgrove – where Independent Education Union Queensland held a rally last month against the current EBA offer – as well as All Hallows, Lourdes Hills, and Mount Alvernia College.

The union-organised Catholic school staff strike outside the Marist College Ashgrove on August 28 regarding ongoing statewide EBA negotiations. Photo: Lyndon Mechielsen.

IEU Queensland and Northern Territory branch secretary Terry Burke said the swing in support away from the union was down to employers’ influence in RI and EREA schools.

“Employers in those schools have more capacity to have captive presentations and discussions with staff, and convey their threats that staff will lose this or that if they reject the proposed EBA,” he said.

However, Diocesan school staff rejected the QCEC offer – with 51 per cent following IEU advice to vote no in the ballot, which closed last Wednesday.

Mr Burke claimed 50 per cent of eligible catholic school staff did not vote in the EBA ballot. QCEC did not dispute this figure.

“They didn’t vote because they were disturbed by what was in the proposed agreement, the QCEC took things away at the last minute, and didn’t address key issues regarding workload and support staff wages,” Mr Burke said.

A QCEC spokeswoman said the approved EBA for RI schools included a 8.75 per cent pay increase this year, including wage and superannuation increases and cost of living support.

“Employers of Religious Institute schools will now make an application to the Fair Work Commission to have the agreement formally approved so that benefits can flow to employees as soon as possible,” she said.

“While the result is disappointing for Diocesan schools after months of negotiations, employers intend to have further discussions with the IEU in October.

“The union distributed misleading information to employees about the terms of the proposed agreement as part of their ‘vote no’ campaign.”

Negotiations between the Queensland Catholic Education Commission and the Independent Education Union began in November.

The remaining sticking points are threefold – workload intensification, proper recognition of school officers and ancillary staff in their new classification, and wage increases for those school officers and ancillary staff that are parallel with the public sector.

The 39 Queensland catholic schools who voted in favour of the new EBA

Queensland Religious Institute schools

All Hallows School, Brisbane

Brigidine College, Indooroopilly

Downlands College, Toowoomba,

Iona College, Lindum

Loreto College, Coorparoo

Lourdes Hills College, Hawthorne

Marist College Ashgrove

Mount Alvernia College, Kedron

Mt St Michael’s College, Ashgrove

Padua College, Kedron

St Patrick’s College, Townsville

St Rita’s College, Clayfield

St Ursula’s College, Toowoomba

St Ursula’s College, Yeppoon

Stuartholme School, Toowong

Villanova College, Coorparoo

Edmund Rice Education Australia schools

Ambrose Treacy College, Indooroopilly

Ignatius Park College, Townsville

Indooroopilly Montessori Children’s House

Marlene Moore Flexi School, Deception Bay

Marlene Moore Flexi School, Gympie

Marlene Moore Flexi School, Hemmant

Marlene Moore Flexi School, Noosa

Mary Rice Early Learning Centre, Boondall

St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon

St Edmund’s College, Ipswich

St James College, Brisbane

St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace

St Joseph’s Nudgee College, Boondall

St Laurence’s College, South Brisbane

St Patrick’s College, Shorncliffe

Wollemi Flexi School, Albert Park

Wollemi Flexi School, Mount Isa

Wollemi Flexi School, Rockhampton

Wollemi Flexi School, Southport

Xavier Flexi School, Ipswich

Xavier Flexi School, Townsville

Xavier Flexi School, Inala

Xavier Flexi School, Brisbane