Staff at dozens of Qld schools to strike on Tuesday

As many as 2000 staff at 34 Queensland catholic schools are expected to strike on Tuesday after talks stalled over a new enterprise bargaining deal. SEE THE FULL LIST OF SCHOOLS

All Hallows School is among those where union member staff will strike on Tuesday. The strike will not interrupt the entire day but will be for certain times and tasks. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Up to 2000 staff at 34 Queensland catholic schools are set to strike on Tuesday after talks with the Catholic Education Commission fizzled out over a new enterprise bargaining deal.

Some of the state’s most prestigious catholic schools will be affected by the protected industrial action including All Hallows’ School, Lourdes Hill College, St Joseph’s Nudgee College, St Patrick’s College at Shorncliffe, and Marist College Ashgrove.

Tuesday’s protected industrial action will include participating staff stopping work for five minutes from 8:30-8:35am, as well as not attending staff meetings throughout the day, not doing playground or transport supervision all day, not supervising during cover periods, and not responding to any school communications outside of 8:30am-3:30pm.

Negotiations between the Queensland Catholic Education Commission and the Independent Education Union’s Queensland and Northern Territory branch began in November.

In May, the QCEC tabled an offer of an 8.75 per cent pay increase for 2023, including wage and superannuation increases as well as cost of living measures.

Marist College will also have staff on strike. Picture: Peter Bull

“As part of recent negotiation processes, the union (IEU-QNT) had accepted that formal negotiations were finalised as they had progressed as far as they could, and that employers would be arranging an employee vote on proposed agreements,” a QCEC spokesman said.

“Employees have asked employers to arrange the vote as they want to obtain the benefits offered as soon as possible. Employers expect an employee vote in early September.

“Employers have raised concerns with the union about misrepresenting the status of items in negotiations in their communications with members encouraging them to take action.”

IEU-QNT branch secretary Terry Burke said overall pay for all staff was not union members’ main concern.

“We have taken a low-level approach with five-minute strikes before work, and low-level bans like taking a lunch break and not responding to emails outside of work,” he said.

“There are three key issues – 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.

“With the school officers and ancillary staff – they had an outdated 35-year-old classification structure. The employers accepted it was outdated and accepted a new classification.

“We argue that the employers must also take a new look at these employees’ work value … but they just want to bring the old wage rates across from the old classification structure.”

Mr Burke said members are “bewildered and angry” and believe “employers are not listening”.

The Queensland catholic schools where union members will take action on Tuesday:

• Albert Park Flexible Learning Centre, Brisbane
• All Hallows’ School, Brisbane
• Deception Bay Flexible Learning Centre, Deception Bay
• Gympie Flexible Learning Centre, Gympie
• Ignatius Park College, Cranbrook
• Inala Flexible Learning Centre, Inala
• Iona College, Wynnum West
• Lourdes Hill College, Hawthorne
• Marist College Ashgrove, Ashgrove
• Mount Alvernia College, Kedron
• Mt St Michael’s College, Ashgrove
• Noosa Flexible Learning Centre, Sunshine Beach
• Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, Toowoomba
• Rockhampton Flexible Learning Centre, The Range
• St Anthony’s School, Toowoomba
• St Edmund’s College, Woodend
• St Francis De Sales School, Clifton
• St James College, Brisbane
• St Joseph’s College, Toowoomba
• St Joseph’s Nudgee College, Boondall
• St Joseph’s School, Chinchilla
• St Laurence’s College, South Brisbane
• St Mary’s College, Toowoomba
• St Mary’s School, Warwick
• St Monica’s School, Oakey
• St Patrick’s College, Shorncliffe
• St Patrick’s College, Townsville
• St Patrick’s School, Allora
• St Saviour’s College, Toowoomba
• St Saviour’s Primary School, Toowoomba
• St Thomas More’s Primary School, Toowoomba
• St Ursula’s College, Toowoomba
• Stuartholme School, Toowong
• The Centre Education Programme, Kingston