Dear Colleagues,

It has been some time since we last communicated to you about the current state of negotiations for a Multi Business Agreement (MBA) and we appreciate that there are a number of different messages that you may be hearing from various sources.

Swinburne is committed to negotiating an agreement that will see meaningful salary increases for TAFE Teaching Staff.

Swinburne wants to progress issues in order to expedite Teaching staff receiving well earned salary increases. We are only too aware of the impact of the recent School Teacher Agreement and we do not want to see TAFE Teaching staff disadvantaged through further delays.

At present Swinburne has submitted its management position to the Government with the AEU having submitted its log of claims. The Government maintains its position of a 3.25% salary increase per annum of which they will fund 2.5% for recurrently funded staff with the difference of 0.75% to be funded by Swinburne through increased productivity and service delivery improvements. Swinburne is also required to fund the entire 3.25% per annum for staff deemed allocated to commercial fee for service work.  

On behalf of the TAFE CEO’s, the VTA have proposed that they, and the AEU jointly approach the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) to act as a conciliator in facilitating discussions that will lead to a successful negotiation process resulting in an Agreement and long awaited salary increase. The AEU TAFE Council met on 18 July 2008 but there was no decision by the AEU to agree to join the Institutes in making this approach to the AIRC.

A website has been set up to enable us post regular updates to keep you informed.  The website has a Frequently Asked Questions section set up so that you can email any queries.  The website can be accessed at: http://www.swinburne.edu.au/corporate/hr/ebtafe/

Regards
Louise Palmer
DVC and Director TAFE