Major win for private school staff stood down during COVID-19 crisis
Private school staff at Haileybury and Ballarat Clarendon College who were stood down over coronavirus will be reinstated after a win at the workplace tribunal.
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Private school staff stood down over coronavirus cuts will be reinstated after a win at the workplace tribunal.
Staff at Haileybury and Ballarat Clarendon College impacted by COVID-19 measures took their fight to the Fair Work Commission, coming out with a victory following conciliation talks.
Staff in the music department across Haileybury’s four campuses had been stood down but the Independent Education Union (IEU) confirmed more than 30 music teachers would retain their jobs after it took the school to the tribunal.
Haileybury has confirmed that individual and group music lessons would return again from next week after it surveyed more than 600 families over demand for tuition.
Following these results, the lessons were reinstated.
Meanwhile, staff at Ballarat Clarendon College’s King Island campus — feared marooned following stand downs without pay — will now be able to remain at their accommodation after previously being told they could only stay for two weeks.
The College has also committed to working towards providing those staff with meaningful paid work.
IEU general secretary Deb James said positive outcomes at both schools “demonstrate that
with proper consultation, schools are able to treat hardworking staff with decency and
respect during this difficult time”.
However, the union continues to fight proposals of stand downs of a “significant number” of non-teaching staff at Ivanhoe Grammar.
Ms James called on the school to do “the right thing” by its staff.
“We know that this school can afford to treat staff better than this,” she said.
The matter was set to proceed to arbitration early next month.
Ms James said the IEU would “actively challenge any unjustifiable stand-downs in our schools.”
Haileybury principal Derek Scott said the school “continues to support its staff and is working through a range of complex staffing issues including workloads and possible stand downs.”
A statement from Ballarat Clarendon College read “the matter was amicably resolved following productive consultation and mediation with both the IEU and the staff concerned”.
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