Teachers and support staff in Catholic schools across the state have roundly rejected an enterprise agreement (EA), which was not endorsed by the Union.
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The Union campaigned strongly, including two strike rallies, the latest just last week, urging staff to vote no, which they did, delivering an 87.8 per cent result.
At issue was the refusal to guarantee access to arbitration by the Fair Work Commission in regard to any future disputes about the EA and other agreed conditions.
IEU Secretary John Quessy called the result “solid”.
“We hope that Catholic employers are listening to the voice of their employees,” he said.
“While I’m very pleased with the NO vote, this is not the end of the matter, and we still need to thrash out an EA which is acceptable to our members.”
Although the dispute is not over pay, a 2.5% pay rise was settled nearly a year ago, but has yet to be paid.
“If employers have the best interests of their staff at heart, they’ll return to the bargaining table to negotiate a reasonable agreement,” Mr Quessy said.