Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Australian Education Union NT Branch President Michelle Ayres has hailed new financial support for Katherine teachers as a "huge win"

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Australian Education Union NT Branch President Michelle Ayres has hailed new financial support for Katherine teachers as a "huge win" · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: But we know that Catherine teachers, it's been reported or
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: certainly the Minister and issued a statement yesterday saying that
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  Speaker 1: they're set to receive additional financial support to help secure
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  Speaker 1: housing and alleviate cost of living concerns from next year.
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  Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line to tell us a
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  Speaker 1: little bit more about the situation is Michelle Airs from
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  Speaker 1: the Education Union here in the Northern Territory. Good morning
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  Speaker 1: to you, Michelle.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 3: Thanks so much for your time this morning. Michelle.
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  Speaker 1: Obviously the Education Minister saying yesterday that Catherine teachers will
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  Speaker 1: receive that additional financial support and that new teachers to
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  Speaker 1: Catherine will see an increase in their relocation allowance from
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  Speaker 1: ten fortnights to fifteen fortnights and well as well as
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  Speaker 1: some other measures. Michelle, does this go far enough?
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  Speaker 4: So excuse me?
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  Speaker 2: This is a huge win for our members. That's the
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  Speaker 2: first thing we really need to celebrate is that they're
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  Speaker 2: our members have been fighting for something on this since
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  Speaker 2: twenty nineteen, and it's members coming together and doing actions
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  Speaker 2: that have really won this. The members have done it
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  Speaker 2: by coming together and fighting for it, and I think
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  Speaker 2: that's the first.
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  Speaker 4: And foremost thing we need to.
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  Speaker 2: Say, is it the same as what they lost in
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  Speaker 2: twenty nineteen. No, it isn't. But also it's not the
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  Speaker 2: same as nothing, which is what they've had, you know,
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  Speaker 2: since twenty nineteen.
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  Speaker 1: That is a very good point to make and your
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  Speaker 1: spot on you know, we'd even we've spoken to you
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  Speaker 1: and one of the teachers based there in Catherine that
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  Speaker 1: when the you know, the rally was held or when
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  Speaker 1: there was some striking happening, and teachers have certainly fought
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  Speaker 1: for this, particularly in Catherine, because it's been really tough,
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  Speaker 1: hasn't it.
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  Speaker 3: On the housing front, it's been hugely.
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  Speaker 2: Tough, and you know, and that's something we've been talking
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  Speaker 2: about with them as well. As we can't you know,
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  Speaker 2: make new houses just suddenly appear. That's not something that
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  Speaker 2: I empowered to do. But I can work with the
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  Speaker 2: government to see what we can do to get them
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  Speaker 2: some incentives maybe to find other options for their accommodation.
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  Speaker 2: And that's what we're going to continue to do. Like
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  Speaker 2: we haven't just because we've won a step forward here,
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  Speaker 2: it doesn't mean that we've stopped our discussion with the
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  Speaker 2: government around making sure that they're getting supported to find
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  Speaker 2: accommodation around you know, logistical issues, but also around you know,
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  Speaker 2: continuing to campaign on this issue for the best possible
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  Speaker 2: living conditions. That's something we'll be doing, you know, going
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  Speaker 2: forward for sure.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: And what's been the reaction from those teachers that are
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  Speaker 1: based in Catherine, because there've been some concern, hadn't they Michelle,
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  Speaker 1: that you know, if something wasn't sorted, that we might
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  Speaker 1: actually lose them and then you know, not be able
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  Speaker 1: to retain the good teachers that we've got there currently
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  Speaker 1: and then trying to recruit new ones was going to
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  Speaker 1: be difficult.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: So from what I've heard so far that this is
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  Speaker 4: that they're appreciative of the government for coming up with this,
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  Speaker 4: but there's still big questions around the pay, which we're
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  Speaker 4: still in negotiations with the government about and hoping to
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  Speaker 4: come to some kind of a decision within the next
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  Speaker 4: few weeks.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, right, Okay, so those negotiations are still certainly underway,
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  Speaker 1: and it does sound as though there is still some
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  Speaker 1: areas that teachers are wanting to see some change here.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Well, that was the biggest question, and it's the first
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  Speaker 2: time in Catherine that the biggest question has been okay,
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  Speaker 2: what's happening with the EA because there has been such
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  Speaker 2: big issues with the housing. So I think that the
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  Speaker 2: housing is one issue that Catherine's been dealing with that
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  Speaker 2: maybe the rest of the territory hasn't necessarily been concerned about.
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  Speaker 2: But now that we've taken care of this, they're like, Okay,
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  Speaker 2: this issue now that we've been dealing with throughout the
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  Speaker 2: rest of the territory, which is okay, what's happening there?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, So that's the big one.
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  Speaker 2: It's going to be you know, what are teachers going
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  Speaker 2: to be paid next year? They want to know before
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  Speaker 2: they decide whether or not they're potentially going to take
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  Speaker 2: positions in other jurisdictions and principles. Want to know what
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  Speaker 2: are teacher's going who paid next year so that I
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  Speaker 2: can attract new teachers here to replace them.
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  Speaker 1: Michelle, when are you going to find out? Because we're
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  Speaker 1: literally how many weeks into the semester are we now?
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  Speaker 3: Or a few weeks in? There's only like six weeks
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  Speaker 3: or something to go, isn't there.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, So we're in week three of a ten week term,
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  Speaker 2: so at the end of this week there'll be seven
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  Speaker 2: weeks to go. Our negotiations with the government. The date
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  Speaker 2: we've come up with is the middle of November. We
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  Speaker 2: need to have something pretty much decided by the middle
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  Speaker 2: of November in order to give us time to put
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  Speaker 2: it out to teachers and get it signed off by
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  Speaker 2: the end of the year.
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  Speaker 1: Yep.
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  Speaker 2: And yeah, honestly it is.
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  Speaker 4: The ball is in the government's court.
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  Speaker 2: The position the government have come out with is a
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  Speaker 2: two percent starting rate. What we're having see is if
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  Speaker 2: there's any room around that to come up with something
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  Speaker 2: that would cause our members to sign an agreement, because
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  Speaker 2: two percent does not come anywhere near the current CPI
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  Speaker 2: increases that we're seeing and it's like the cost of
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  Speaker 2: living pressures that teachers are facing currently in the territory.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Michelle, I'll ask you the same question that I
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  Speaker 1: put to the to the police union earlier this morning,
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  Speaker 1: and that is, you know, I had messages coming through yesterday.
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  Speaker 1: This is more on the police calling for those negotiations
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  Speaker 1: to you know.
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  Speaker 3: To get back to the table around their pay.
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  Speaker 1: But I'll ask you the same We had people messages
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  Speaker 1: yesterday and say, Katie, you know, I work in the
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  Speaker 1: private sector and I'm in a worse situation.
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  Speaker 3: So our teachers being greedy, Michelle, No, this.
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  Speaker 2: Has been about teachers being greedy at all. And to
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  Speaker 2: be clear, we haven't put this yet to teachers. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: this is about again and it's always goot. I've said
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  Speaker 2: this year before. It's about which is in front of
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  Speaker 2: children and quality education. We need conditions in the Northern
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  Speaker 2: Territory that attract quality teachers here and keep quality teachers here.
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  Speaker 2: And that at the end of the day I taught
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  Speaker 2: it about. And the government their position is from creating
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  Speaker 2: a strong fiscal policy and specifically around creating a strong
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  Speaker 2: pyscical climate by twenty twenty, by twenty thirty, most of
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  Speaker 2: the kids that are currently in classrooms will be in
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  Speaker 2: the workforce in twenty thirty and that's something the government
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  Speaker 2: really has to consider here is we need to invest
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  Speaker 2: in our teachers. And it's not just about the bottom
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  Speaker 2: line pays. Bottom line pay is a big part of
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  Speaker 2: the agreements, but it's not just about that. We need
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  Speaker 2: to be making sure that we're upskilling them and you know,
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  Speaker 2: making sure that they've got proper places to live like
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  Speaker 2: we're doing in Cathroine, giving them the right professional development
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  Speaker 2: or the right release time if their early career teachers,
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  Speaker 2: all of this stuff. We're negotiating with the government to
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  Speaker 2: make sure that we've got the best quality teachers, you know,
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  Speaker 2: their release time, et cetera.
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  Speaker 1: So, Michelle, when the territory, when do you do back
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  Speaker 1: to the table with the government at this point to
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  Speaker 1: try and sort it out? Because as your point now,
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  Speaker 1: you know, there's only seven weeks left in the term.
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  Speaker 1: Presumably teachers would either be looking at whether they're going
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  Speaker 1: to stay in the Northern Territory right now, or they'd
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  Speaker 1: be looking at jobs into state.
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  Speaker 2: Katie where in the middle of discussions right now, and
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  Speaker 2: I will be more or less walking in there as
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  Speaker 2: I hang up this with the government.
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  Speaker 4: What this looks like so or.
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  Speaker 2: What this is going to continue to look like at
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  Speaker 2: these discussions they take time. I won't necessarily know today
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  Speaker 2: what this looks like, but we are in the middle
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  Speaker 2: of going over our agreement and working out what flexibility
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  Speaker 2: there is on the other the other elements of the
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  Speaker 2: agreement which would possibly get pieces across. Well, please get
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  Speaker 2: the answer.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, please keep us up to date.
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  Speaker 1: I know that I, like lots of other parents, you know,
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  Speaker 1: will be really keen to find out what happens and
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  Speaker 1: you know, obviously all that everybody that works in education
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  Speaker 1: will be really keen to find out.
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  Speaker 3: But for a lot of parents, you know, we want to.
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  Speaker 1: Make sure that we're keeping the best teachers that we've
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  Speaker 1: got here in the Northern Territory. We don't want to
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  Speaker 1: be losing them. And I know that it is more
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  Speaker 1: expensive to be, you know, recruiting new teachers to bring
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  Speaker 1: them to the territory than what it is to be
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  Speaker 1: retaining those good ones.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think that's the thing overall as well,
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  Speaker 2: is it's more expensive. Everything's more expensive than the other territory.
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  Speaker 2: It's more expensive to live in the territory. I think,
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  Speaker 2: it's more expensive to teach in the territory, and it's
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  Speaker 2: more expensive for our government to provide education in the
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  Speaker 2: Northern Territory. So it's a huge conversation that's going to happen.
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  Speaker 2: It's not all going to happen by the middle of November. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: the conversation we have to keep up having around studying
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  Speaker 2: and how to you know, how to get the best
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  Speaker 2: quality school that we possibly can in the nothern territory.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Michelle, please keep us up to date with how
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  Speaker 1: things progress and no doubt we'll talk to you again soon.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks you, Katie, thank you,