WP15/
UNI5032
8 December 2015
Professor Anthony Forsyth
Chair
Victorian Inquiry into the Labour Hire Industry & Insecure Work
Via email:
Dear Professor Forsyth
RE: Inquiry into Labour Hire Industry and Insecure Work
We are pleased to provide this Submission to the Victorian Inquiry into the Labour Hire Industry and Insecure Work.
Should you require any further information please contact Christian Bombig at or on 03 9254 1860.
Yours sincerely
Debra James
General Secretary
enc.
INTRODUCTION
The IEU represents (inter alia) people who work in primary and secondary schools not directly run by the Victorian Government. The Union currently has over 20,000 members employed as teachers and support staff. While most teachers are employed on an ongoing basis, there are many employed on fixed-term contracts, as casual “emergency” teachers (both directly and through labour-hire agencies). Support staff, including Learning Support staff (such as teacher aides, laboratory and library employees), administrative staff, grounds and maintenance staff and so on are very often engaged on fixed-term contracts.
In preparation for making this submission, the Union invited members to email in any comments they wished to pass on to the Inquiry. The emails received guided the content of this submission and extracts of the comments made by members are set out here to indicate the kinds of difficulties presented by insecure employment in this industry. We have used pseudonyms to protect the anonymity of our members.
The two most intrusive forms of insecure employment in the non-government education sector are:
1. Relief teacher employment through labour-hire agencies; and
2. Fixed-term contract employment.
Both of these forms of insecure employment have a variety of negative impacts upon the wellbeing of workers in our sector. These negative impacts include: poorer physical and mental health, financial insecurity, lower levels of job satisfaction and an inability to plan for the future amongst the many others evidenced in our submission.
In addition, both of these forms of insecure employment create very unsatisfactory income streams for employees, not least because of the structure of the school year. Employers are motivated to use insecure employment methods to save wages costs during school holiday periods. School holidays occur four times each year, for periods between 2 weeks and 13 weeks on each occasion, totalling between 12 and 19 weeks of each year, depending on the type of school. For those only able to earn their income during school terms, the consequences can be very severe.
7 December 2015
CASUAL RELIEF TEACHING (CRT)
Casual Relief Teachers (or “emergency teachers”) are primarily engaged through labour hire agencies. The work can be very spasmodic.
My experience started with no job and CRT through an agency where I worked 4 days in term 1, 2013. This left me feeling terrified that I had let my family down and would not earn a living as a teacher.
Matthew, Teacher
The agencies mostly charge fees to the school where the teacher is placed, but that is not universal.
I am a first year graduate teacher, working as a CRT. I have been getting my work via a labour hire organisation rather than being directly employed by the school. The company is taking nearly $50.00 per day from my payments (which are already less than $300 per day). Add to this, the fact that I only got 80-odd days of work for the 2015 school year.
Jessica, Teacher
Otherwise, the problems with labour-hire employment are well described by other submissions made to the Inquiry and, in particular, the submissions made by the:
* Victorian Trades Hall Council,
* Australian Nurses and Midwifes Federation,
* National Union of Workers, and
* Australian Council of Trade Unions.
We do not propose to make separate submissions about the effect of labour-hire employment in the non-government education sector. We strongly endorse the submissions and recommendations advanced by the Victorian Trades Hall Council and Australian Nurses and Midwifes Federation. These apply with equal force to our industry.
FIXED-TERM EMPLOYMENT
The largest and most pernicious form of insecure employment, affecting both teaching and non-teaching staff in the industry, is fixed-term employment. Recent studies such as the ‘Staff in Australia’s Schools Report’ 2007 [1]and 2013[2] record an increase in the use of fixed-term contracts in the education sector, with contract and casual employment increasing from 10% to 15% for secondary teachers and 17% to 22% for primary teachers. Fixed-term employment was established to allow for insecure employment only in particular circumstances such as where an employee is on maternity leave or extended long-service leave, or where the position is to undertake a specific task or project tied to limited-term funding. Clauses to this effect are set out in the relevant Award and most (if not all) Agreements operating in the industry[3]
I got a contract for both term 3 and 4 at a Catholic School. The school then offered me a contract for this year while 'letting go' another fixed-term teacher who had been there 3 years. As of the 11th of November, none of the contract staff know if they have a job for next year.
Matthew, Teacher
Because the best teachers want income security, they will not apply for fixed-term positions. This has two effects:
1. Schools do not declare their intentions to engage on a fixed-term basis
I recently applied for a teaching job with a Grammar school and when they offered the job, it was a one year contract, something that was not stated on the original job ad.
Stephanie, Teacher
2. Schools suffer from not being able to attract the best talent.
I have found that most of the positions I have applied for have gone to 1st year graduates. They are the cheapest option. Because I have a Masters and am now heading into my 3rd year of teaching, I am a more expensive option and, like many, will be left searching for a career. I know of many who have taken office jobs just to get a regular income.
Melissa, Teacher
People are unable to plan for the future
Each year, teachers and non-teachers are left hanging, not knowing if they will have employment for the following year. By the time they find out, it is usually too late to be applying for other positions. This impacts not only on their ability to plan financially but also to take holidays or make major purchases.
Last year, after having 8 successive one-year contracts, I got to the end of the school year and still didn’t know if I had a job for 2015. I found out when I met a woman at the break-up party who introduced herself as my replacement. I found out later that she was the Principal’s niece.
Rebecca, Teacher
I find it appalling that they announce the new staff (which must require knowledge of what positions are available) before telling those on contracts if they have a job or not for the next year
Susan, Learning Support Officer
It is 4 weeks to Christmas and I don't know if I have a job next year. I fear this is the case for many others and I fear this will be the same, year after year, until I finally get a position that is not on a 12 month contract.
Jane, Learning Support Officer
You don’t buy furniture or don’t go on holiday because things have to be booked in advance. You don’t know whether or not, come Christmas, you’re going to have a job.
Christine, Learning Support Officer
Teaching thrives on collegiate work, experience-sharing and co-operation. With the threat of contracts not being renewed, such lofty aims are unattainable. Fixed-term Teachers are driven to guard their best techniques and resources to try to secure their job.
Your call for comment identifies the huge issue with this situation; the terrible toll on teachers that job insecurity causes. The staff environment is toxic, people are dropping comments about others to try and get an advantage.
Erin, Teacher
Sadly, of the 400+ positions I have seen advertised, there have been less than 10 that were ongoing.
Jodie, Teacher
Despite being long-serving and loyal, employees are left in doubt for so long they cannot make any plans and are forced to scramble for any job they can get because they are left in the dark until the 11th hour.
In 2014, I was employed full time in an administrative position with a contract end date of 12 December. The position was advertised internally in early November and I applied for it. I was interviewed and the discussion implied that I would be offered the position. I then heard nothing. While I finished on 12 December, I was required to return the following week to mail out VCE paperwork. My computer was not accessible: IT had cut access because my contract had expired on 12 December. I completed the required work on 16 December. The school shut down for the summer holiday break on 17 December. I had still heard nothing about employment for 2015. On 22 December, I received an offer of employment for 2015.
Wendy, Administrative Officer
Job Insecurity creates real hardship and impacts negatively upon wellbeing
Even in relatively well-paid employment like teaching, insecure employment (and particularly fixed-term engagement) impacts negatively on wellbeing.
The cost of fixed term contracts on the wellbeing and financial security of contract staff is self-evident.
Dan, Teacher
Being on contract stinks, not only is there no job security, you can't get a loan, you're in constant turmoil as you don't know whether you have a job for the following year, you can't plan for anything, the contracts are always wrong (in my case anyway), you don't feel valued you are very vulnerable because they can change the goalposts at any time without any consultation. It has a huge effect on your health.
Nicole, Teacher
On a more personal level, it has been a struggle to obtain credit and a home loan and the insecurity of employment means that loan providers view you asa greater risk and therefore charge a higher rate. Simply, being in insecure employment creates stress for me and my family. Having secure ongoing employment would allow me to plan more comfortably for the future and allow me to feel more settled in my job and career as well as my home.
Emma, Teacher
Learning Support Officers face different pressures, namely that their annual salaries are considerably less than those paid to teachers and that they are rarely engaged as full-time employees.
It creates real stress:
In addition to unfairly impacting upon the students whom I teach, my mental health and home life are also significantly impacted. Not knowing whether or not you will have full time employment each year causes an enormous amount of stress. It is impossible to plan a future effectively without financial security. Obtaining a home-loan is virtually impossible, and affordability of health insurance, home and contents insurance etc. is called into question as you are made to feel as though you should be saving every paycheck, just in case you aren’t renewed.
Amanda, Teacher
Because the school year is around 40 weeks, some schools use fixed-term employment to cut costs, which directly affects employees’ income[4].
I was employed at a private school for 6 years on fixed-term contracts. The contract would only run up to the day the students finished. They made me take annual leave in school holidays at the end of terms one and two, so for all those years I had no pay from mid-December until February.
Robyn, Learning Support Officer
Because hours and loads for part-time employees can change from year-to-year[5], fixed-term employees are especially vulnerable.
I have been on a fixed term contract for six years at my current school. Prior to working here I was on permanent staff which allowed me to have job security and some say in what I would be teaching the following year. During the past six years I have had various load allocations. My position has always been part-time, so I am never certain from year to year whether there will be work for me. This causes stress every year when loads are being allocated. If they allocate me hours I can’t do, I effectively lose my job. And if they allocate me too few hours over too many days it would have the same effect. I really enjoy working at the school but would also like to have job security and could do without the stress every year when staffing is being allocated.
Laura, Teacher.
Fixed-term employment undermines the drive for better education
Employment on fixed-term contracts directly creates a number of problems in schools which detract from the provision of the best education.
Every year we lose some of the best teachers and support staff. Replacing staff costs time and money in advertising and the application/interviewing process. It also decreases the productivity of those staff involved in training new staff.
Michelle, Teacher
It is particularly common for Learning Support Officers (“LSOs” or “teacher aides”) to be put on fixed-term contracts and this creates very particular problems.
Staff are distracted and stressed about contract renewals. This results in mistakes which at best decrease productivity, and at worst affect public relations and the reputation of the school. Stress erodes the patience and tolerance levels of teacher aides who are employed principally to work with physically and emotionally demanding students. And stress impacts on relations between staff, creating an unhealthy work environment, occasioning the need for intervention and conflict resolution.
Toni, Teacher
The uncertainty it creates is stressful and causes people to doubt their own worth.
I have been employed at the same Catholic Primary School for the past 12 years always on a contract. Each year I leave our Christmas function wondering if I will have a job next year as we are not told until towards the end of the Christmas holidays. We don't know if we are returning, or what our hours or days will be. This makes life a little difficult as I can't make any plans for the following year. But what is more frustrating is that I am constantly on the look-out for another position 'just in case'. I feel totally unvalued, that my experience and dedication to the school amounts to nothing.