Susan Price
Workers at TAFE colleges across the country were issued with an ultimatum by the federal government on May 11: Unless state and territory employers offer TAFE teachers Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), Commonwealth funding will be withdrawn.
The federal government tabled the Skilling Australia's Workforce Bill on May 11. The bill stipulates that funding for TAFE/VET colleges will cease from July 1 unless states and territories agree in writing to the conditions set out in the government's legislation.
On May 19, the Australian Education Union (AEU) announced that TAFE teachers around Australia will be taking protest action on June 1 to defend the national training system. They will join protests called by the National Tertiary Education Union for that day.
According to the AEU, federal funding comprises almost 30% of government funding for the TAFE system, yet the federal government wants 100% control over workplace relations in TAFE colleges.
AWAs threaten workers' entitlements in several ways — by requiring individual employees to negotiate in secret the terms of an agreement each time the previous AWA expires; by creating a "second class" of employee without the guarantee of minimum conditions such as access to sick leave, family leave, long-service leave and penalty rates; and by fragmenting the work force they allow employers to put downward pressure on wages and conditions during enterprise bargaining.
In TAFE colleges and universities, one of the biggest risks of AWAs is the potential for a blow-out of teaching workloads.
The federal government's conditions also allow for more authority for TAFE directors to set the remuneration of employees. The bill stipulates that "performance management systems", including performance pay and systems for "managing underperformance", must be introduced.
In a move presaging the likelihood of privatisation of the TAFE sector, the government conditions include increasing TAFE colleges "entrepreneurialism and commercial activities" to enable government funding to be reduced.
From Green Left Weekly, May 25, 2005.
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