From The Point: Committed to Consultation

Consultative Committees are not new. They have long been the forum for discussion of such matters as class sizes, positions of leadership and workload.

But under the new Victorian Catholic Agreements, staff and union representatives on CCs are newly empowered, and the success of workload measures depends on staff making their views and experiences known via their CC representatives.

Under the new Agreements, Consultative Committee Reps are now entitled to paid leave to attend IEU training – and in Term 3 we started rolling out this ongoing training program with a series of shorter online sessions.

In October, we ran our first full-day in person Consultative Committee training at union headquarters in South Melbourne. General Secretary David Brear addressed 26 enthusiastic Reps from all over the state. He told the gathering that when he was a Rep, staff meetings were much more consultative, and a lot of issues of concern to staff were discussed there.

“Now staff meetings are more like information sessions. Opportunities for genuine consultation in our schools have narrowed, so we must make sure the voice of staff of heard through consultative committees.”

David acknowledged that while in some schools, CCs were working really well – staff were listened to, got to express their concerns, and could affect change – in many others the situation was not so rosy. Hence the need for greater education of Reps, to arm them with knowledge and techniques to build power for their workforce.

“It’s important you canvas opinion widely in your school to make it obvious to leadership that you are representing a lot of people, and not just taking in personal agendas. Take strongly, deeply, and widely held views of staff back to your consultative committee meetings.

“Be a strong advocate for people you represent – the sustainability of school communities, the health and wellbeing of staff and the quality of education for our kids depend on it.”

The day-long session identified that 74% of attendees found their current CC functional, but with room for improvement, and 24% categorised their CC as ‘not functioning’.

The first activity undertaken by participants was to turn to the person next to them and discuss how their school’s committee was working. As important as instruction on such days is the opportunity for Reps to share stories, ideas, and solutions between themselves.

Kezi Todd, from St Francis Catholic College, said the two aspects of CC training go “hand in hand”.

“The teaching is important because teachers are time poor, staff in schools are time poor so we haven’t had time to sit down and nut through all the details. So having it there presented explicitly is helpful. But then also hearing about other people’s experiences helps provide more clarity.”

Jacky Merrey from St Patrick’s School appreciated hearing that staff in other schools were experiencing similar situations to her and her colleagues.  

“Days like this are really good because we can come together share ideas what’s happening, what’s working well, and what’s not – and to learn that it’s not just my school uniquely doing things in a particular way.”

Hearing “in black and white” how Consultative Committees were meant to work would clarify explanations to colleagues at school.

She was confident her participation in the training day would “make things better at her school”.

Daniel Lodder from Genazzano College also appreciated the opportunity to meet with people from across the sector “to get an impression of what is actually happening out there”.

He said it was “empowering” to know more about how the consultative process.

“I think sometimes you sit in consultative, and you know there’s an issue with what’s being said but you just don’t have the knowledge to be able to contest it.”

Reps at training discussed what a successful Consultative Committee should look like, then explored how to make that vision a reality. The training included interactive elements to ensure Reps took away action plans to put in place for the particular conditions in their schools.

Like many, Gemma Burnheim and Samantha Carbonara from Holy Rosary School, new to their roles, were eager for the “nuts and bolts” specifics about how to garner and promote member viewpoints in CC meetings.

“We’ve heard from other schools that there’s different ways of running it, and some ways work really well. So we wanted to come here learn how to run ours properly so we can be as efficient as possible and the best possible for our school,” said Samantha.

Gemma, a graduate teacher, was keen to pick up some more specific details about time in lieu for sacraments and how to call and run meetings.

Kezi had taken extensive notes on how to improve her feedback to members.

“Now I know that I can be much more open and I can use a surveying tool. I’m more confident now in knowing that I’m able to just be the voice of those union members when I’m going in to consultative meetings.

“I was a bit hesitant before – what was I allowed to do, what was I not allowed to do? And now I feel a lot more confident moving forward knowing what’s within the scope of that role.”