
Issue No 40		19 November 1999

Letters to the Editor

Aquilina's Horror Award

I am horrified by the proposed New Award "offered" to teachers and other educational professionals in the name of the NSW Labor Government by the Director-General, Dr Boston and the Minister, Mr Aquilina.

It sickens me that a Labor Government can produce an offer so reactionary and still claim to represent the poor and the disadvantaged in this community. The Award strikes at the heart of workers' entitlements, strikes at the role of the Union in its function of representing its members and attacks public school teachers and professionals directly.

In particular I am horrified that the new award has attacked the working conditions of school counsellors. For the addition of very little by recompense school counsellors have been asked to work an additional four extra weeks. They already work many more hours above their award, already must have completed additional post graduate qualifications and already work in stressful situations. To add to this appalling situation they are now asked to forgo three weeks leave for a pittance. The system will be the loser. Counsellors will not be attracted into the profession and those already there will leave in droves. The dire needs of many students for welfare support will not be fulfilled and we will all be the poorer.

Additional face-to-face teaching demands within the Award for teachers will also be harmful to education. I have taught in England under the conditions imposed by Thatcher when she conducted similar "reforms". The teaching was uninspirational and wooden in the extreme. No teachers had the time to develop effective resources or lessons and none had the desire to give more of their time. So much was lost of traditional teacher good will that the quality of education suffered for many years.

Politically I am even more horrified. NSW Labor relies so much on teacher members. Country branches are often dominated by teachers. They provide the organisational skills, the secretarial work load and the intellectual drive behind branches and SEC/FEC activities. To attack this group is so short-sighted that I can not countenance that such an award has the support of the Caucus.

I ask you to speak up against this Award in Caucus and seek to have the Premier intervene before Dr Boston and certain public servants do permanent damage to public education, the union movement, worker entitlements and the cause of the Labor Party that we both hold dear.

Yours faithfully

Brian Everingham

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Issue 40 contents

Interview: No Quick Fix
Online pioneer Marc Belanger explains why the Internet, on its own, will not save the union movement.

Unions: Organising With A Mission
Entries are beginning to trickle in for the Labor Council Organiser of the Year. With just two weeks to deadline, we look at the TWU's nominee.

History: Rhyme and Reason
Poems written by workers provide us with an insight into their experiences and also how they felt about their work and working conditions.

Health: The Food Police
Three times a day you take your life in your hands. How? When you sit down to eat a meal.

Politics: East Timor: Defeat or Victory for the Left?
John Passant's "Requiem for the Left" advances some rather extravagant charges regarding the left and East Timor.

International: Kiwi Unions Rebuild from Ground Up
After fifteen years as a right wing laboratory New Zealand is about to change tack. New NZCTU chief Paul Goulter outlines the challenge ahead.

Satire: Australian Democrats Revealed as Student Hoax
The Chaser has obtained an exclusive background report on the extraordinary story which reveals how and why Cheryl Kernot defected from the Democrats.

Review: The Best of the Best
Once again Channel Nine has out done itself with it�s new Ray Martin program �Simply the Best�.

Labour Review: What's New at the Information Centre
View the latest issue of Labour review, our resource for officials and students.

Deface a Face: 25,000 Teachers Can�t Be Wrong!
Angry teachers yesterday voted overwhelmingly for Education minister John Aquilina to take the mantle of this week�s face to deface.

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