Memorandum of Understanding

Agreements
14 May 2008

This memorandum of understanding, arising from the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2008, has been agreed by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and the Australian Education Union and reflects commitments and undertakings made by both sides.

Service Improvements

• The parties recognise that only the employer under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 determines the timing of the existing four pupil free days provided not more than three days will occur prior to the day students commence school each year. The employer may move one of these three days into the school year to meet the needs of schools within the context of the Blueprint. The parties agree that any realignment of pupil free days will not alter the number of student attendance days and will be consistent with the Blueprint objectives.
• The parties are committed to all schools providing not less than 25 hours student instruction per week.

• The salary and translation increases under the Agreement will be paid on and from the first pay period on or after 1 May 2008.

• It is agreed that negotiations for the next agreement will commence no later than March 2011.

• It is proposed that an exit strategy be developed for those teachers who have lost the motivation to continue their teaching careers. This strategy will have regard to similar schemes used in other states such as Queensland.
• A feature of this strategy will be the ongoing employment of existing fixed term teachers to replace those teachers who depart as a result of the exit strategy.
• The Department will consult with the AEU on the strategy to be developed.

• That the Teacher Assistants announced in the 2007/08 State Budget be brought forward such that the number promised for 2010 are rolled out at the start of 2009 and that further discussions in the context of the State Budget process be held on the expansion of the program in subsequent years.

Fixed term employment

The Department undertakes that:

• all offers of fixed term employment will specify the reason code for the fixed term employment.
• the duration of all fixed term classroom teacher employment will include the pro-rata school holiday period.
• in predicting enrolment decline for the purposes of clause 20(2)(d)(iii) the Department will rely on the enrolment predictions set out in EMIS or its successor
• pending the implementation of the HRMS upgrade in 2010 the Department will actively monitor fixed term vacancy trends and identify those schools that appear to have a larger number of fixed term vacancies than the school's circumstances would indicate.
• in determining any other reason for fixed term employment under clause 20(2)(d)(vi) the Department will consult the AEU.

• The intention of clause 20(2)(c)(i) is to facilitate staffing co-operative arrangements or similar arrangements. The Department undertakes that should it seek to broaden the operation of this clause it will consult the AEU.

• The importance of the Leading Teacher Classification in terms of the leadership required in schools to deliver the school improvement agenda is recognised. To ensure that sufficient leading teachers are available to meet the succession planning requirements of the Victorian Government school system it is agreed that a statewide leading teacher profile of between 10% to 15% is desirable.
• To this end the Department undertakes to:
  • monitor leading teacher numbers on a statewide basis; and
  • provide a report to the AEU on a quarterly basis.
• Where the statewide profile of leading teachers falls below the desired level the Department and the AEU will endeavour to identify the causes underlying the reduction in leading teacher numbers and develop strategies to increase the number of leading teacher positions. This may include intervening in schools where there has been a significant shift in the leading teacher profile after the date the agreement commences to operate.

• For the purposes of clauses 20(2)(b), 20(3)(b), 20(3)(e) and 21(11)(d) the Department undertakes that it will consult the AEU regarding any changes to the Recruitment in Schools Guide and the Management of Excess Staff that impact on the operation of those clauses.

• The Department undertakes that "approved teaching experience" will be included for salary progression purposes where a teacher gains that experience whilst absent on leave without pay that commences after the date of commencement of the agreement.

• The Department undertakes to provide a one off transition payment, at the commencement of the agreement, to those employees whose salary progression is delayed beyond twelve months as a result of the implementation of the common progression cycle on 1 May 2009.
• This payment shall equal the value of the salary progression amount due on 1 May 2009 multiplied by the number of days in excess of 12 months.

• The Department undertakes that the existing Professional Standards will continue to apply for salary progression purposes pending the development of new assessment criteria developed in consultation with the AEU.

• The Department undertakes to reduce the cost of leasing a laptop to $4:00 per fortnight for an IBM equivalent laptop and to $7:00 for an Apple laptop effective from the first pay period on or after 1 July 2008. Lease fees in subsequent years may vary in line with the Department's usual renewal processes.

• Pending the implementation of the HRMS upgrade long service leave will continue to be managed according to existing arrangements with all employees being converted to the new hours methodology as part of the HRMS upgrade. Employees who separate in the meantime will have their LSL payment in lieu calculated based on the new hours methodology.