‘You are the union’: Rep Training Day turbocharges No More Freebies campaign

On 13 October, a bumper turnout of eager, determined Reps braved Victoria’s Big Wet to attend a training day with a difference at 120 Clarendon Street. At the biggest in-person meeting held since pandemic lockdowns, more than 40 Reps from across the state shared ideas on escalating the No More Freebies campaign in search of a deal in Victorian Catholic education.

Reps unite, 13 October.

However, this was as much a council of war as a day of instruction, and the Reps would enlighten union officials as much as they soaked up information. As an Organiser said during a session: “YOU are the union, you and your colleagues in schools. We [IEU staff] are just here to advise, assist and support you”.

After shaking off dripping raincoats, Reps received an update on the (stymied) state of enterprise bargaining with the MACS group of employers from General Secretary Deb James.

“Our absolute focus is to land the deal,” she said. “It should not be this hard… it should have been done. It should have been done long ago. MACS is intransigent on things that shouldn’t be difficult.”

IEU General Secretary Deb James introduces Rep Training Day.

Deb said the IEU was not at the table bargaining right then because MACS had not changed its position on three critical non-negotiables: time in lieu; extras; and strengthening of consultative committee powers.

“If sitting down at the table at the moment was what was going to take to get a deal, we’d be doing it,” she said. “MACS are the ones who need to move. If they are prepared to move on these basic workload provisions, we’ll meet.”

Those provisions were agreed to in Diocese of Sale Catholic schools and all Victorian government schools long ago.

“We want these things so staff are rested, so you can do a better job for kids and be more effective. We need these loads off your shoulders,” Deb James told the gathering.

This was mirrored by the words of a Rep later, “Teachers need to be looked after so we can look after the kids”.

De-identified Rep questionnaire, 13 October.

The morning session also included a recap of the legal limitations on industrial action in multi-employer bargaining and a brief overview of the union’s extensive campaigning this year. Here it was pointed out that all the rallies, posts, banners, photos, media articles and bargaining meetings ARE having an effect, and have moved MACS’ bargaining position significantly.

Reps were told that MACS hated the bad media coverage they’d received due to their failure to finalise an Agreement with fair workload provisions.

“They know people are frustrated, and principals want a deal done. No one wants this to drag on any further,” Deb said.

At the outset, it was emphasised that the ‘informal’ parts of the day were as important as the scheduled talks. “The discussions you have together in breaks will be as invaluable as any of the formal sessions. It’s been a long time since we’ve had this many Reps in the same space together. The feeling in this room is inspiring – we want that to be taken back into schools.”

This sentiment was vindicated by the hubbub at morning tea, with Reps sharing war stories and ideas for actions. These passionate discussions continued in workshops throughout the day.

At each break, Reps also provided interviews, detailing the concerns of members at their schools and the specific No More Freebies actions they’d devised to ramp up pressure on MACS.

These will be disseminated to Catholic education staff, offering inspiring and creative ways to get their point across without unduly disrupting students.

This group has a lot of good ideas.

In the afternoon, Health and Occupational Safety Reps training separately joined Reps downstairs for a group photo, forced indoors by the monsoonal weather.

After that, union leadership fielded questions on everything from dealing with MACS misinformation about the state of bargaining to rural staffing.

This motivated and committed group of Reps gave the campaign renewed impetus with their passion for workload reform and inventive ideas for local campaigning.

At the start of the day, Reps were asked, “How are your colleagues feeling about employers delaying this deal and refusing to offer industry standard conditions?”

This question received tremendous, detailed responses, most of which will feature in the upcoming edition of The Point and in other IEU communications.

But one brief answer sums them up, and how most staff in MACS schools feel:

“Frustrated, angry, undervalued.”