CER is delighted to provide this short summary of the outcome of the application for Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2022.   

On November 11, The Industrial Relations Commission NSW (NSW IRC) published its decision on the Application for the Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2022.  In summary:

• The Award has a two year term, expiring 31 December 2023

• The Award provides an increase in remuneration of .25% backdated to the first full period after 1 July 2022

• The annual increase in remuneration for 2023 will be 3%, comprising a 2.53% increase in salaries and salary related allowances and a 0.5% increase to the superannuation guarantee

• There is an additional one-off payment outside the Award.  The lump sum is 0.25% of the actual earnings in the period 1 January to 30 June 2022.

• The payment will be made on 22 December 2022

• The no extra claims clause in the Award will be amended to substantively reflect the language used in the Crown Employees (School Administrative and Support Staff) Award 2022

Overall agreement

The NSW Teachers Federation has made it clear that the settlement is unsatisfactory, and it will continue campaigning for higher increases.  They may continue to take industrial action, particularly in the lead up to the state election.  The NSWTF has achieved some media cut-through with headlines stating that teachers received a pay cut in real terms.  The Federation and other Unions, anticipate a change of state government on 25 March next year.  The NSWTF are likely to continue a strong campaign that achieves their goals of undermining the current Government and placing pressure on the Labor party to do better for teachers.

These factors mean that matching the DoE offer is unlikely to secure an agreement with the IEU.  At best, it might result in an agreement to the end of 2023.  The reality of a short term agreement is the need to prepare for negotiations almost immediately.  It is also likely that employers will make significant concessions, and will gain little respite in return.   Across our education client base we expect negotiations to be protracted.  The reality is that in industries where pay is strongly correlated with the public sector, unions are unlikely to accept any other than the most generous of offers ahead of the election.  Should Labor emerge victorious we will need to wait until their education agenda is made clear.  There is also the possibility that rather than award pay increases, the Labor government may facilitate the NSWTF running a work value case in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission.  This could mean final outcomes on pay are not known until the end of next year.   

We expect the IEU to continue its joint campaign with the Teachers Federation.  They will continue to pressure all Catholic employers to do better than the state government.  In the case of employers with multi-enterprise agreements, the Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation, may pose an additional risk to employers.  Employers on multi-enterprise agreements may be open to staff taking protected industrial action.  All employers may be impacted by the introduction of intractable bargaining orders.   

To explain how the application came about and how the decision was reached, let us provide you with a background history of the situation, the terms of the Award and the overall impact.

Should you need any support, advice or help understanding the implications of this decision on your organisation, please contact our Industrial Relations business unit.