Agreements are meant to create clarity and certainty, however, history shows this never seems to be the case with industrial agreements involving the DoE and Government, and the casualty is usually the school leadership as school leaders are not necessarily well-supported when it comes to complaints and disputes against them. Read DoE letter here

The PFWA’s other concerns with the Director-General’s offer are:

  • Her belief that the Classification Review, which has been in every Agreement since about 2010, is being adequately managed. The review has stalled, and the last report from the Consultants described a model that was complicated and unwieldy. I am urging the Director-General to look at what other jurisdictions have done and to talk to people who have successfully led systems through significant change. The argument for a re-classification is relatively simple. Entry level school leaders, that is our current Level 3 Deputies and Principals, need to be paid at a much higher salary at the time of their appointment to a school leadership position than the highest paid classroom teacher, that is a salary commensurate with the responsibilities and accountabilities that go with the role.
  • 3FTE allocated to Level 3 Deputy Principals for administrative duties. The staffing formula prior to the introduction of the Student-Centred Funding Model allowed for this, and on the introduction of the SCFM, funding to support the staffing allocation was factored in for every school whose enrolments allowed for a Deputy Principal. To write this into an Agreement now is insulting, and does not take into account the practice of all schools who can afford it, of releasing their Deputy Principals from responsibility of managing a class so they can perform their leadership role effectively.
  • The Compensatory Leave proposal for Principals does not compensate them for spending countless hours in evenings, over weekends and during holiday periods. And it is at the discretion of a Director of Education.
  • Additional flights for Education Act employees working in the Kimberley, Pilbara and Goldfields certainly does not take into account that parts of the Mid-west are as remote, or those working at Christmas or Cocos Island who are considered a part of North Metro.
  • The additional funding for district high schools, while welcome, can’t address their staffing issues or the availability of replacement staff. A commitment to maintain district high schools’ classification at Level 5 or 6 would have been more welcome.