ACTU vow of support heals school union rift

THE national union representing 70,000 non-government teachers has rejoined the ACTU.

THE national union representing 70,000 non-government teachers has rejoined the ACTU, after receiving assurances from the peak body that it would not favour government-run schools.

The Independent Education Union of Australia disaffiliated in July last year, after accusing the ACTU of being captive to an "extreme" Greens agenda and lacking a credible education policy.

The decision was one of the few national disaffiliations from the ACTU in its 84-year history and the first since the Transport Workers Union split in 1995.

In a scathing letter last year to ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence, IEUA federal secretary Chris Watt accused the ACTU of discriminating against "our tens of thousands of members in Catholic and independent schools" by favouring state-run schools.

The union was furious at Mr Lawrence's decision to change the wording of the ACTU's Working Australia Census, which surveyed union members nationally on an array of issues, including education. The survey asked workers to what extent they agreed that unions should be campaigning on "the quality of education, including adequate funding for public schools".

After months of talks, Mr Watt revealed yesterday his union had decided to reaffiliate after written undertakings from Mr Lawrence, who said the ACTU recognised that the IEUA would "take the lead in developing policy concerning the level of financial support provided by governments to non-government schools and the distribution of such support within the non-government school sector".

"The ACTU recognises that the IEUA will campaign to increase funding to non-government schools to meet needs identified by the IEUA relating to the job security, salaries and working conditions of IEUA members," he wrote.

"As a matter of principle, ACTU will be supportive of the industrial, organising and campaign activities of the IEUA."

Mr Watt said the undertakings addressed his concerns that the ACTU had been favouring the rival Australian Education Union, which represents state school teachers.

The rapprochement comes ahead of the release next week of the Gonski review into school funding.

While the two education unions represent different constituencies, Mr Lawrence said the ACTU would only comment on the report if there were agreement between the unions. "Given the particular sensitivity of these issues, any ACTU public statement will be made following agreement of all unions."