Teachers and support staff from 43 Catholic schools in the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese have signed a petition calling for the right to have disputes with employers heard by the Fair Work Commission.
Representatives from the Independent Education Union went to the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese head office yesterday to hand over the document, which was backed by 2000 union members.
Under current arrangements, Catholic school teachers are not afforded the same rights as those in the public sector, with Catholic employers fighting for veto powers over disputes heard in the NSW Fair Work Commission.
Organiser of the NSW Independent Education Union, Therese Fitzgibbon, says the Union will not settle an enterprise agreement on behalf of Catholic teachers until the agreement protects the teachers' right to arbitration.
She says fair arbitration is necessary for settling a whole host of workplace disputes between teachers and their employers.
"It could affect our workload agreements, which may relate to class sizes or face-to-face teaching," Ms Fitzgibbon says, "We have agreements in place but sometimes there are disagreements relating to how clauses are interpreted.
"What we have to do is make sure there's the capacity for an independent person to interpret those clauses."
The Union is hoping to resolve the issue quickly, as teachers prepare to strike in term four if they cannot reach an agreement with the CSO.
