Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation

Call Number
Nef 331.8809944 EDU
Created/Published
Sydney : The Federation, 1919-2021
Issue
Vol. 78 No. 13 (27 Oct 1997)
Images
28
View Catalogue

Contents

EDUCATION JOURMAL OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES TEACHERS FEDERATION 1
DSE acknowledges casual shortage 1
Principals threatened with OH&S fines 1
NEWS Royal Commission recommendations to be considered 2
Pre-school executive release restored 2
Workload increasing for teacher-librarians 2
Our deadlines 2
Officers 2
Executive 2
WA unions issue warning 3
Parliamentary committee criticises Department’s OH&S practice 3
in BRIEF 3
ELECTION STATEMENTS Candidate statements For President Brenda Seymour 4
Sue Simpson 4
Van Davy 4
For Deputy President Maree O’Halloran 5
Jennifer Leete 5
Call to strengthen education role in gaols 5
State aid and federal funding: confronting some myths 6 , 7
History of state aid 7
Case study of a proposed Christian community school in Grafton 7
Don’t throw out teacher civil rights 8
The WORKLOAD Campaign Draw the line at the school fence 8
Advertising 9
VIEWS How fast does Bill Gates type,anyway? 10
Kemp manufacturing a crisis 10
Class sizes: a break in the ranks 11
Advertising 11
The President Writes The basics,the facts 12
LETTERS to the Editor Public and private 12
Health disclaimer 12 , 13
Question answered 13
Let’s get physical 13
Suffering from erosion 13
Call for equity 13
EEO ha ha 13 , 14
Preferred option 14
Shortened Christmas holidays 14
Be up-to-date 14
Teachers surprised 14
Support airport outside Sydney basin 14
Improving our image 14
Teacher registration gaining momentum 14
Carbon Copy Pay equity for casual teachers 15
Disappointed at Kemp 15
Dump the Olympics 15
Howard family values 15
Advertising 13
ADMINISTRATION Call for Anna Stewart nominations 15
Notice of proposed re-affiliations 15
A Republic? And if so, what kind? A first step 16
Who, when, where and what 16
Make your vote count 16 , 17
Platform for A Just Republic 17
FINANCE Helping women manage money 17
Advertising 17
Examining superannuation for casuals 18
Expect a longer wait for social security 18
Advertising 18
RETIRED Retired Teachers Association 19
Corner Computer 19
Advertising 19
TAFE Understanding your TAFE Award: Education and related officers 20
Advertising 20
In the words of the Award: 20
Reveal the sham 21
Our Red Reps 21
Advertising 21 , 22
Up, Up and Away Focusing on the Hall of Mirrors 23
Not hard, just different 23
Website On location in Africa 23
Advertising 23
Postcard from Shanghai Mr Yen’s world 24
Advertising 24
REVIEWS Theatre Life’s not a cabaret, it’s a circus! 25
cheap WINE Celebrating Orlando’s success 25
Advertising 26 , 27
DT SMITH 26
SHOE 26
THOSE WHO CAN’T 26
INSIDE 28
Voting for Federation President and Deputy President 28
Literacy kit with Aboriginal perspective launched 28
Roll of Honour dedicated 28
Advertising 28

Text

EDUCATION  

JOURMAL OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES TEACHERS FEDERATION  

Agreement No. PP255003 00104  

Vo!. 78 0.13 October 27, 1997  

DSE acknowledges casual shortage  

by Sue Simpson  

Recent publicity concerning the  

casual teacher shortage has led to  

discussions between Federation,  

the Education Minister’s office  

and the Department of School  

Education (DSE) on ways to alle-  

viate the shortage.  

The casual teacher shortage,  

particularly in Sydney’s West and  

South West, and rural NSW, has  

hit disadvantaged school commu-  

nities the hardest.  

Members’ action in alerting  

politicians of the number of  

phone calls required to get  

casual and of the lack of educa-  

tional continuity and over-  

crowded classrooms that arise  

when casual teachers can not be  

found has meant the Government  

and the DSE now see there is  

problem that requires systemic  

response.  

Federation is currently dis-  

cussing with the DSE:  

• the provision of in-built relief  

in secondary schools;  

• the provision of district relief  

teachers for primary schools;  

• casual teachers earning credit  

for service as means of  

advancing their priority date  

for permanent job; and  

• the use of the Internet as an  

employment agency for casual  

teachers.  

While Federation has indicated  

to the Government and the DSE  

that the casual teacher shortage is  

state-wide problem, clearly the  

problem is most acute in those  

areas already disadvantaged.  

Members have reported through  

surveys and at meetings in  

Sydney’s West and South West of  

hundreds of secondary students  

being minimally supervised in  

playgrounds, and of primary stu-  

dents being denied Support  

Teacher Learning Difficulties/  

English as Second Language  

lessons as teachers are diverted to  

taking classes of teachers who  

could not be replaced. This is  

occurring in schools where there  

is already higher proportion of  

beginning teachers and students  

who require specialist programs.  

It is an educational disaster for the  

students and for the teachers. It  

contributes to lower morale and  

bum out and sees teachers denied  

entitlements to leave.  

The DSE is currently surveying  

the waiting list to see just how  

many teachers are actually seeking  

permanent employment with the  

DSE. Federation believes one of the  

reasons for the casual teacher short-  

age is the number of casual teachers  

already filling part-time vacancies.  

Under the new staffing agreement  

the School Staffing Unit is ferreting  

out those part-time positions which  

should be converted to permanent  

part-time positions. This is good  

news for those casual teachers who  

would much rather enjoy the  

greater job security and better con-  

ditions that come with permanent  

employment. When these two  

processes are complete, the DSE  

and Federation will have better  

view of just how many casual  

teachers are available for casual  

relief work and where those casual  

teachers are located. Until this is  

done the DSE is not prepared to  

agree with Federation that the  

casual teacher shortage is merely  

the first manifestation of general  

teacher shortage.  

Sue Simpson  

is the Deputy  

President.  

Principals threatened with OH&S fines  

by Joan Lemaire and  

Wayne Patterson  

In heavy handed attempt to fill  

10 places at four day  

Occupational Health and Safety  

Committee course, the Depart-  

ment of School Education has  

threatened that Work Cover may  

fine principals.  

fax addressed to all principals  

of high schools, central schools  

and PI and schools in the  

Bathurst District offered  

Occupational Health and Safety  

(OH&S) training on the following  

basis:  

■ Two days relief provided by  

District  

■ Other two days to come from  

school’s T&D budget  

■ No relief for principals  

■ Travel and accommodation (if  

any) to be paid by the school  

■ Cost of venue and meals to be  

provided by District Office  

■ Ten places available  

■ Priority given to schools which  

already have committee  

established and where mem-  

ber/members have not been  

trained  

■ Another course will be run in  

Ist term 1998.  

Uie Department obviously felt  

that on these terms many schools  

may find it difficult to send staff  

so they threatened principals in  

the following terms: “NB:  

Principals are responsible for  

ensuring that all committee mem-  

bers receive training. The  

Work Cover Authority has indi-  

cated that it has the power to fine  

workplace managers where train-  

ing has not taken place.”  

This fax presents an interesting  

interpretation of the Occupational  

Health and Safety Act 1983 and  

the regulations concerning train-  

ing for Committee members.  

Regulation 13B(1) states:  

“For the purposes of Section  

25(2) of the Act, the  

training to be provided,  

to members of an  

occupational health  

and safety committee (-  

established at place  

of work shall be pro-  

vided by the employer of  

the persons employed at that  

place of work.”  

This clearly indicates that the  

employer must provide training  

for all committee members.  

Regulation 13B(2) indicates  

this training shall include training  

in relation to duties of commit-  

tee member but also: “(i) training  

in connection with the industry or  

business with which the commit-  

To: Principals of high  

schools, central schools  

and ana schools  

From; Pathurst District  

Office  

Re: Work Cover has  

inaicatea that it has the  

power to fine workplace  

managers where training  

has not taken place.  

tee is concerned and in special  

hazards to which employees are  

exposed in that industry or busi-  

ness; and  

(ii) refresher training in their  

duties as members of the com-  

mittee.”  

Regulation 13B(4) gives occupa-  

tional health and safety committees  

the power to determine: “(a) which  

accredited training courses (if  

any) its members should attend  

under sub clause 2(a);  

(b) which further training  

courses (if any) its members  

should attend under clause  

(2)(b) and the times for atten-  

-1 dance; and  

(c) whether its members  

should attend together or sepa-  

-1 rately.”  

These regulations state that  

the employer is responsible for  

providing and paying for all  

OH&S training for OH&S com-  

mittee members on the  

terms described above.  

This means that  

OH&S committee  

members who choose  

not to attend the  

Department’s course or  

decide they need refresher  

training must be given the  

training requested by the com-  

mittee.  

The Act does not specify  

whether this training should be  

funded through the school’s  

global budget or by districts or  

head office. The Department’s  

fax indicates that they will allow  

principals to be prosecuted by  

Work Cover if training is not  

provided..  

The Department identified  

safe, happy schools as priority  

in Agenda 97. This facsimile  

suggests that schools must pay  

even if it creates problems in  

terms of resourcing other priori-  

ties like learning resources  

and staff development. The  

Department will have to take the  

political responsibility for situa-  

tion where schools are forced to  

choose between safety and learn-  

ing resources.  

Federation believes OH&S  

should be priority and should be  

funded centrally. We will con-  

tinue negotiations on this issue. In  

the meantime it is clear that prin-  

cipals have no choice, they must  

provide training as requested by  

the OH&S committee or face  

prosecution by Work Cover. This  

could involve personal fines of up  

to several thousand dollars.  

Principals should not allow  

themselves to become the scape-  

goats for the Department’s fail-  

ings in terms of OH&S.  

If any principal is threatened  

with prosecution they should con-  

tact Federation immediately for  

assistance.  

Joan Lemaire  

is an Industrial  

Officer and Wayne Patterson is  

Country Organiser  

Cite

Citation options:
Work identifier

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-663858645

APA citation

N.S.W. Teachers' Federation & New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. (1919). Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation Retrieved August 14, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-663858645

MLA citation

N.S.W. Teachers' Federation and New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation Sydney: The Federation, 1919. Web. 14 August 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-663858645>

Harvard/Australian citation

N.S.W. Teachers' Federation & New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. 1919, Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation The Federation, Sydney viewed 14 August 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-663858645

Wikipedia citation

{{Citation
  | author1=N.S.W. Teachers' Federation.
  | author2=New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation.
  | title=Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation.
  | year=1919
  | section=volumes.
  | issn=0013-1156
  | issue=Vol. 78 No. 13 (27 Oct 1997)
  | location=Sydney
  | publisher=The Federation
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-663858645
  | id=nla.obj-663858645
  | access-date=14 August 2025
  | via=Trove
}}

Citations are automatically generated and may require some modification to conform to exact standards.

Download

Select the images you want to download, or the whole document.

Available formats
TIF high resolution
Include
All
Current

Or select a range of images:

Selected: 1 - 28 (28 Images)

Order

You can order a copy of this work from Copies Direct.

Copies Direct supplies reproductions of collection material for a fee. This service is offered by the National Library of Australia

Include

Or select a range of images:

1 - 28 (28 Images)

Share

Share on Twitter

Share on Facebook

What can I do with this?

Copyright varies by issue and article

Reason for copyright status
Serials have an open range of dates.

Copyright varies with each issue and article. You may have full rights to copy, or may be able to copy only under some circumstances, for example a portion for research or study. Order a copy where circumstances allow or Contact us for further information.

Copyright status was determined using the following information:

Material type
Literary, dramatic or musical work

Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply.

For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Share Close

Copy and paste one of these options to share this book elsewhere.

NOTE: We've tested EMBED on blogspot.com blogs as well as self-hosted Wordpress blogs. This feature will NOT work on wordpress.com blogs.

About this book Close