Technical and further education or simply TAFE is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known as "Tech".
Education in Australia encompasses the sectors of early childhood education (preschool) and primary education, followed by secondary education, and finally tertiary education, which includes higher education and vocational education. Regulation and funding of education is primarily the responsibility of the States and territories; however, the Australian Government also plays a funding role.
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The interests of the employees are commonly presented by representatives of a trade union to which the employees belong. A collective agreement reached by these negotiations functions as a labour contract between an employer and one or more unions, and typically establishes terms regarding wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms, and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs. Such agreements can also include 'productivity bargaining' in which workers agree to changes to working practices in return for higher pay or greater job security.
The Australian Education Union (AEU) is an Australian trade union, founded in 1984 as the Australian Teachers Union, which is registered with Fair Work Australia as an employee group, and is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions. The AEU is Australia's third largest trade union, with 198,480 registered members in 2021, consisting of educators who work in public schools, colleges, early childhood and vocational settings in all states and territories of Australia. Members include teachers and allied educational staff, principals and administrators mainly in government school and TAFE systems. Teachers working in the private schools system are covered by the Independent Education Union of Australia (IEU). In some states the AEU shares coverage of some members with the National Tertiary Education Union, Community and Public Sector Union and United Workers Union. Through the Federation of Education Unions, the AEU works closely with the two other Federal unions which cover educators in non-government schools and universities. The AEU is also internationally affiliated to the Education International, which the AEU claims is "the largest non-government organisation in the world."
Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the full range of payments and benefits, including basic pay, non-salary payments, bonuses and allowances. Some countries have moved faster than others in addressing equal pay.
Willetton Senior High School (WSHS) is a public secondary school in Willetton, Western Australia, 12 kilometres south of the Perth central business district and 12.6 kilometres east of the port of Fremantle. The school opened in February 1977 with 77 students. It is one of the largest schools in Western Australia, with 2,712 enrolled students as of 11 May 2024.
An Australian workplace agreement (AWA) was a type of formalised individual agreement negotiated between an employer and employee in Australia that existed from 1996 to 2009. Employers could offer a "take it or leave it" AWA as a condition of employment. They were registered by the Employment Advocate and did not require a dispute resolution procedure. These agreements operated only at the federal level. AWAs were individual written agreements concerning terms and conditions of employment between an employer and employee in Australia, under the Workplace Relations Act 1996. An AWA could override employment conditions in state or territory laws except those relating to occupational health and safety, workers' compensation, or training arrangements. An AWA was required to meet only the most minimal Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard. Agreements were not required to include effective dispute resolution procedures, and could not include prohibited content. Agreements were for a maximum of five years; approved, promoted and registered by the Workplace Authority; operated to the exclusion of any award; and prohibited industrial action regarding details in the agreement for the life of the agreement. The introduction of AWAs was a very controversial industrial relations issue in Australia.
The Independent Education Union of Australia (IEU), with a current membership of over 75,000, is the federally registered industry union representing all employees working in non-government schools and institutions across Australia. Included in its membership are principals, teachers, and various categories of clerical, administrative, educational support staff and school services officers employed in primary and secondary schools; and teachers working in some private pre-school settings, Life Education Centres, business colleges and private English Language colleges.
The New South Wales Teachers Federation is the registered trade union that covers New South Wales (NSW) public school teachers. The New South Wales Teachers Federation represents all teachers in NSW public pre-schools, infants, primary and secondary schools and TAFE institutes. Teachers working in public non school based teaching service positions and corrective services are also covered by the Federation.
The Queensland Teachers' Union is an Australian trade union with a membership of more than 46,000 teachers and principals in the Queensland Government's primary schools, secondary schools, special schools, senior colleges, TAFE colleges and other educational facilities. More than 96 per cent of eligible teachers are members. As well as protecting the rights and conditions of its members, the QTU also sees the promotion of public education as a major part of its role.
Education in Western Australia consists of public and private schools in the state of Western Australia, including public and private universities and TAFE colleges. Public school education is supervised by the Department of Education, which forms part of the Government of Western Australia. The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is an independent statutory authority responsible for developing a curriculum and associated standards in all schools, and for ensuring standards of student achievement, and for the assessment and certification according to those standards.
The General Union is a labor union founded in 1991 and headquartered in Osaka, Japan. Membership is open to all nationalities and all workers. It has members working in trading companies, factories and restaurants but the majority of members are teachers and staff who are employed in language education at private conversation schools, high schools and universities in the Kansai and Chubu regions of Japan. Union members work at universities such as Ritsumeikan University, and language schools such as ECC, Berlitz and Gaba. Recent years have also seen the union launching major organizing drives among South American workers in Japan, along with Filipino workers.
The Council of School Supervisors & Administrators (CSA) is a New York City based collective bargaining unit for principals, assistant principals, supervisors and education administrators who work in the New York City public schools and directors and assistant directors who work in city-funded day care. It was founded in 1962 as the Council of Supervisory Associations.
The Finnish Business School Graduates, founded in 1935, is a central organization for graduates and students in economics and business administration. It consists of 25 regional associations and 13 student societies. The association has over 50,000 members, including graduate members and over 15,000 students. Its graduate members from Finnish universities have a B.Sc. or M.Sc. degree. Applications from foreign university graduates are assessed individually. A member must have at least an academic bachelor's-level degree in business studies. Many of its members are working outside Finland. The Finnish Business School Graduates attempts to improve the success of its members as individuals. To do so, it implements several services concerning educational, professional, social issues and labour market conditions, always according to the needs of the members. On behalf of its members, it negotiates and concludes collective agreements concerning salaries and conditions of employment. The association is the fourth-biggest affiliate of AKAVA.
The Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) is a trade union for secondary school teachers in Ireland. It is a member of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The union represents 18,500 teachers in schools attended by 80% of all second-level students.
Matthew Anthony O'Sullivan is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian Senate since 2019.
Richard Anthony Cotton, known for most of his life as "Dick" Cotton, was a Western Australian politician and educator who served as deputy mayor of Fremantle from 1976–1978. Cotton has been described as a caring administrator and an staunch advocate for housing in North Fremantle.
Board of Bendigo TAFE v Barclay is an Australian labour law case, decided by the High Court of Australia on the Fair Work Act's section 346 protections against adverse action for participation in industrial activities. It concerned the dismissal of an employee of Bendigo TAFE. The employee was a member of the Australian Education Union (AEU) and was suspended after having sent an email from his work computer to all AEU members employed at Bendigo TAFE. Management then suspended him for not having notified them of serious instances of fraud discussed within that email.
Barbara Ann Pocock AM is an Australian politician who was elected at the 2022 Australian federal election to become a Senator representing South Australia from July 2022. She was officially declared elected by the Australian Electoral Commission on 15 June 2022. Previously, she ran as the Greens candidate for the Division of Adelaide in the 2019 Australian federal election. She is a professor and economist.
