Picton High School – Industrial dispute update – August 2018 (PDF version)

Members are aware the union has been extensively consulting with the Department of Education (DoE) attempting to get more detailed information on the impacts of the infrastructure project on your workplace.

The union has renewed its request to the Deputy Secretary, Mr Murat Dizdar, for access to the business case, risk assessments and schematics of the infrastructure project.

With respect to the business case, an understanding of the DoE’s plans for the interim and new school are sought to gain an understanding of potential student numbers and enhancements to curriculum.

The risk assessments involving work health and safety matters such as site access/egress, construction safeguards, asbestos remediation, transport provisions, and similar issues along with an understanding of how business as usual will be undertaken during the infrastructure project is important for you to understand how you will be able to do your valuable work in the school.

The union is also seeking any schematics so members may feed any concerns arising from undertaking their duties and supporting students during the interim school arrangements to help make the interim school as successful as possible.

Every day the union identifies new areas of interest based on our ongoing consultation with members. Security during the interim school was raised during the first meeting – we are still left wondering about lock downs. And if, for example, the interim school ever needed to evacuate during an emergency, what is the procedure?

The DoE has consistently refused to provide specific information or detail on any of these areas of our members concerns.

The union’s position is that the DoE has a legal obligation to consult on all of these issues.

Are you prepared to just trust your health and safety at work to the DoE?

Job Security during the infrastructure project

At the last meeting with the DoE which was reported in the previous bulletin found HERE, the union wrote to the DoE to ask for staff numbers to be preserved during the interim school and construction period. You can see the union’s correspondence HERE.

The DoE has rejected the union proposal to temporarily suspend the staffing formula and advised that it will not guarantee job security. The DoE advises that it expects that there will be a loss to SAO hours of 0.4 hours per week. You can see the DoE letter HERE.

Let’s face it, guaranteeing 0.4 hours per week of extra funding for the schools SAOs will hardly break the bank. The bean counters in the DoE clearly care more about saving a few bucks than helping you meet your bills.

Picton High member survey is live

To all those members who have already completed the survey, many thanks. If you haven’t yet completed the survey, please take four minutes out of your time to give us your input. The survey is located HERE.

We are interested in your views and completing the survey helps us more effectively raise the concerns you have with the infrastructure project.

We are seeking to meet with the DoE next week. If you would like to participate as a union representative in the consultation meetings with management, please indicate your interest in the space provided in the survey.