The Department of Education’s school-based workers are to enjoy permanency under a second conversion process beginning in the fourth term of this year.
According to the Together union, the first phase of the process began last term when long-serving temporary employees were converted to permanent.
Together has announced that a new second phase review has been agreed, which will benefit school-based employees who have been working long-term additional hours above their permanent hours, as well as temporary employees with greater than two years’ service.
In a statement, the union said that for years Together members had campaigned and won better permanency rights, both in Government policy and legislation.
“In this new stand-alone Education Agreement, rights have been won for employees working additional hours over their substantive hours to request to have those hours converted to permanent,” it said.
“Now, the Department and Together have agreed to the principles for this second-phase review process that looks to make good on the legislative and industrial requirements to make permanency the default employment position.”
Together said it had sought assurances from the Department that while this process was being worked through, schools would not cut hours in order to reduce eligibility for conversion of temporary hours.
“The Department will review each instance of reduction in hours to determine if those reductions are legitimate,” it said.
“If your school is seeking to reduce your additional hours during Term Four, please reach out as soon as possible by emailing us at [email protected],” Together said.
