Schools member bulletin – March 2018 (PDF version)

By now you will have well and truly settled into the new school year and its challenges.

You may have seen a recent update to the PSA Facebook page showcasing one of our members. In addition to our regular bulletins the PSA will be shortly creating a new Facebook page dedicated specifically to members in schools.

This will give those of you on Facebook a chance to see your SAS Staff colleagues working around the state.

In the meantime, please visit the PSA’s Facebook page (found HERE) to see some recent photos of members taken during meetings with the PSA’s team of School Organisers.

We try to post something of interest to our schools’ members each day at 4pm.

This year will see a number of developments

The PSA Pay Equity case will be back in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission again at the end of April. Watch out for news about the case and the campaign during the year.

The PSA understands that the Department will be rolling out the Professional Learning Evaluation (SRG Review) this term.

Please look out for this and complete the survey and participate wherever possible in other evaluation activities, such as focus groups and individual interviews where they are offered.

The first meeting of the Schools JCC took place on 12 February. The Schools Joint Consultative Committee is a regular scheduled meeting between the Department and PSA representatives (Departmental Committee representatives and paid officials) where issues can be raised and, hopefully, resolved.

The PSA has asked the Department to provide on a school-by-school basis the members of SAS Staff employed as so called ‘casuals’ and on what basis they are employed. We have also asked for information about long-term temporary staff members, numbers of applications for conversion, and successful conversion applications.  We have also asked for details of current SAM vacancies. These requests are directed to enforcing observance of Award provisions and monitoring workload.

We want resolutions of the issues of SLSO in travel assistance, and have emphasised the lack of consistent and operationally tested advice and procedure for school WWCCs.

The PSA has also written to the Department noting the lack of effective consultation with the union, and with its staff, particularly about the unresolved and cumulative impacts of new systems such as LMBR and how this can be improved. The Department has responded that it doesn’t see the need to change current arrangements. The PSA has responded, noting its disappointment and contradicting the points made by the Department, putting the Department on notice that while we are prepared to continue to engage in working towards more effective consultation, the PSA will be pursuing workload concerns separately as a Work, Health and Safety issue, to the full extent of the legislation.

In addition to workload, the PSA has recently been supporting members in other WH&S issues, including the management of asbestos removal, and intervening successfully in a situation where there was unsatisfactory management of mould due to roof leakage.

Watch out for separate fact sheets containing important things to know about your rights and the processes to be followed, and for further bulletins on specific issues.