TAFE Award implementation update

Last Thursday, the Industrial Relations Commission handed down the Stage 3 determination and informed the Government and the AEU that the new Arbitrated Awards for DECS and TAFE employees would be operative from Friday 3 September. While the bulk of Stage 3 related to DECS, the one outstanding issue for TAFE was the operative date for the Review of Temporary Lecturers which the Commission has determined to be 15 November 2010.

The AEU has been advised that the process of identifying all contract lecturers with two years service and who do not fit the definition of Temporary Employee is well under way. We understand that already some 300 contract lecturers have been identified and subject to there being no genuine business case that that position is not ongoing, they should all be converted to permanent employment status no later than 15 November.
The next group to be considered will be those lecturers who will reach the two year mark during their next contract and subject to the provisions mentioned above, they also should be converted to permanent now rather than waiting until the two year point.

Then there are those lecturers who have more recently commenced employment with TAFE and are on contracts where it is clear that the position will be ongoing and lecturers who have part-time permanent employment but have had contract top-ups which are arguably ongoing.

The AEU has sought a meeting with DFEEST to discuss these more contentious employment groups.
AEU members should remind lecturers who are about to be offered permanent employment, and who are not yet union members, that this would not have happened had it not been for the strong case presented to the IRC in arbitration. This, coupled with the now much clearer definition of "teaching and assessment" which provides a much improved description of those duties which contribute to 18 – 24 contact hours, and hence assist staff in managing excessive workload, are two clear reasons why staff should join the union which achieved these outcomes.