Hunter Catholic School Staff Strike Over Salary Dispute

 BY IAN CROUCH

Office staff at Hunter Catholic schools are walking off the job today (Thursday 6 June, 2024) over a pay dispute.

The Independent Education Union says the Maitland Newcastle Catholic Diocese has refused to pass on an 8% increase paid to teachers, instead offering a 3% pay rise.

Branch secretary Amanda Hioe says salaries for school-based psychologists and counsellors have fallen far behind those in government schools, meaning the Diocese will struggle to retain this critical resource.

Staff will rally at Wickham Park at 3.30pm before marching to the Catholic Schools office on Hunter Street.

Coronavirus Closes Churches While Councils Fight to Stay Open

BY MEGHAN RICHARDSON

As the Coronavirus situation continues to evolve, many local organisations and councils have been forced to review their regular programs and events.

The reshuffle follows after the federal government announced that "non-essential" gatherings of more than 100 people are banned.

Many religious organisations have said they will close their doors to keep their followers safe.

This includes the mosque at Wallsend which has suspended regular services until further notice.

Similarly, Catholic and Anglican churches reported they will also shutting down and temporarily stopping all Sunday services.

However, religious schools in the area are to remain open.

Catholic Schools around Newcastle and Maitland said they will stay open until the 9th of April.

While Anglican schools around the Hunter have stated they are currently open but continue to evaluate the situation daily.

The Coronavirus has also threatened to close many local community events and activities.

Newcastle council said Blackbutt Reserve's bushland will remain open, but services requiring staff to interact with the public are suspended.

Meanwhile, Maitland City Council has addressed the uncertainty and said all council facilities will remain open but public programs across the libraries, pools, and art gallery have been suspended.

The council also announced that the annual Street Eats event is still set to go ahead on April 3rd, but the event will be split across several sites in order to promote social distancing.

Catholic teachers call for fairer dispute resolution

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

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.