The State School Teachers’ Union (SSTU) and Principals’ Federation of WA (PFWA) have accepted the second round of the McGowan Government’s $1,000 wages policy.
A vast majority of the SSTU members, 85 per cent, and PFWA members, 82.5 per cent, voted in favour of the agreement in their respective ballots. The two-year term conditions include:
- an immediate pay rise, $1,000 per annum, including backpay;
- 12 weeks’ superannuation on unpaid parental leave;
- one-off 30 minute increase in duties other than teaching (DOTT) time for primary school teachers (and corresponding decrease in face-to-face teaching time);
- provision of 320 minutes DOTT time for kindergarten teachers;
- curriculum support for kindergarten to Year 10 inclusive of up to half a day of professional development;
- pilot of lead principal program in 2020;
- award long service leave provisions for casual employees;
- five paid days of cultural leave for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders;
- flexibility enhancements to sick, carers and short leave entitlements; and
- extension of temporary freeze on Government Regional Officers’ Housing rents until June 30, 2021 (from June 30, 2020)
The State Government has also reached an in principle agreement with the SSTU in relation to more than 2,500 TAFE lecturers.
As stated by Industrial Relations Minister Bill Johnston:
“I’m very pleased that a majority of the teachers and principals have agreed to the new enterprise agreement.
“We’ve engaged with the unions’ leadership positively, who have worked hard to reach an agreement for their members.
“As with the case with other enterprises, we have taken a progressive approach to bargaining and looked at a range of improvements to come up with a mutual agreement.
“It’s disappointing that after five offers we still couldn’t reach an agreement with the WA Police Union, even though 62 per cent of its members voted in favour of the last offer.
“That’s why in March, the McGowan Government gave our respected, hard-working police the pay rise they deserved, backdated to July 1, 2019, when their last agreement expired.”
