On International Women’s Day (IWD) 2024, the Independent Education Union of Australia NSW/ACT Branch celebrates many union gains for women and looks forward to fighting for more.
With a total membership of more than 32,000, 76 per cent of whom are women, the IEU is proud to have achieved substantial pay rises in the Catholic systemic sector in 2023, including:
- NSW teacher salary increases in NSW of 8 per cent to 12 per cent
- ACT teacher salary increases of 11 per cent to 19 per cent
- General employee (support staff) increases of 6.5 per cent to 20 per cent.
These union-negotiated agreements also included improved parental leave for both mothers and their partners. The IEU says it also welcomes the federal government’s announcement that superannuation will now be paid on government-funded parental leave, a move designed to close the 25 per cent gender gap in retirement savings. This is an essential step to help address the retirement poverty suffered by many women workers.
“I acknowledge the hard work of our women members and staff and their allies in keeping gender equity front and centre,” IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Carol Matthews says.
“While we’ve achieved a great deal both recently and over many years, there is still work to be done.”
Educators in early learning centres are paid less
In the early childhood education and care sector, the IEU says it’s pursuing substantial pay rises for teachers in both long day care centres and pre-schools. While these teachers have the same qualifications as their colleagues in schools, they are paid substantially less. The union says they are fighting to change that.
New limits on the use of fixed-term contracts are also important for IEU members.
Although the IEU says female educators do now have a clearer pathway to job security, the reality remains that women working in schools can still get trapped in insecure, short-term contracts.
The national shame of pay inequity
While the gender pay gap shows some improvement, lower earning by women is still a national shame, the IEU says.
On average (across all industries) women earn $26,393 less per year.
“Across the independent school sector and early childhood education, women earn an average total remuneration of 5.9 per cent less than men”, the IEU said in its IWD media statement today.
“We will not rest until this gap is permanently closed.”
