eNews - 7 April 2022 (TAFE)

The SSTUWA wrote to Department of Training and Workforce Development (DTWD) in mid-March questioning why the government was taking so long in getting back to the union with an offer in response to the TAFE Log of Claims.

DTWD immediately responded indicating that they appreciated that our members and delegates were feeling frustrated and angry that an offer had not yet been presented.

DTWD also indicated that they were working closely with government and treasury and were hopeful that an offer would be finalised quickly.

Three weeks have since passed (seven weeks since our last negotiation meeting).

Your union’s TAFE Committee met on Thursday 31 March to discuss the lack of an offer and potential industrial action after the mid semester break.

Please monitor your eNews for further information and attend your campus union branch meetings when called.

Members are to use these instructions to help regulate their workload and to ensure current entitlements, as prescribed by the Western Australian TAFE Lecturers’ General Agreement 2019, are respected and implemented.

Understanding Averaging

Issue: Members have contacted the union, indicating that they are being asked to work hours in excess of those that they are paid to work, because managers are still not clear on the difference between teaching standard hours and averaging teaching hours.

Standard Hours

• If lecturers are working in accordance with the provisions of Clause 35 – Hours, and teach beyond 21 teaching hours in any given week, they must be paid overtime for those hours in excess of 21 hours (see clauses 35.7 and 40.4 (b) ). On the weeks that they teach less than 21 hours the PA time increases up to the full fraction (see clause 35.13).
• In terms of a block program this means that lecturers will be paid for all teaching in excess of 21 hours in any given week but on weeks when they are not scheduled to teach a block, they are required to work 37.5 hours.

Averaging Teaching Hours

• If lecturers are working in accordance with the provisions of Clause 36 – Averaging, and teach beyond 420 teaching hours in a semester, they must be paid overtime for those teaching hours in excess of 420 hours (see clauses 36.2, 36.12 and 40.4 (a) ), however, on weeks that they teach less than 21 hours they are only required to work the scheduled teaching hours and 4.5 hours of ARD and 4.5 hours of PA – a total of 9 hours on campus and 7.5 hours ARD that may be carried out off campus at the lecturers’ discretion (see clauses 36.7, 36.10 and 35.12).
• In terms of a block program this means that lecturers will be paid for all teaching in excess of 420 teaching hours in a semester but on weeks when they are not scheduled to teach a block, they are only required to work a total of 9 hours on campus and 7.5 hours ARD off campus.
• Part-time lecturers cannot average their teaching hours and must be paid according to the hours they work or their permanent fraction – whichever is the higher. Part-time lecturers are paid according to the hours they work each week and when they agree to work beyond their regular working hours their fraction will increase for that week. See Clauses 20.4, 35.2 and Schedule L – Hours Chart.