TasTAFE teachers and staff stood strong in support of our jobs and public education and training. They deserve thanks and congratulations throughout a hard-fought battle against ideological planned changes for TasTAFE.
 
The AEU is proud to represent a passionate workforce that showed real strength against such an attack.
 
Well done to all TasTAFE employees who attended statewide Save TasTAFE Stop Work meetings last week.
 
Well done also to the more than 100 members who emailed Legislative Council members sharing stories of why TasTAFE is important to them.
 
Member voices were heard, with many member emails read out in the Upper House ahead of a parliamentary vote on TasTAFE’s future.
 
Sadly, even some of those parliamentarians who read out member emails proceeded to vote for the State Government’s legislation to kick 900 TasTAFE employees out of the public service.
 
While the AEU is grateful to those MPs who stood up for TasTAFE – Meg Webb, Rob Valentine and Labor MLCs – we are utterly disappointed with Independent MLCs Rosemary Armitage, Tania Rattray, Ruth Forrest and Mike Gaffney who all voted with the Government.
 
It is unacceptable that our so-called Independents chose a future of privatisation and showed so little respect for TasTAFE teachers and staff who have given so much.
 
All MLCs received our 19-page briefing paper ahead of the vote, detailing the flaws in this legislation. Before that they heard from us directly in a formal briefing, received several notes from us on aspects of the Bill, received a copy of our submission on the Draft Bill that remained largely unchanged to the final and had direct meetings with members and AEU representatives.

We threw everything we had at this, and some.
 
Pressure from AEU members made a difference. While we don’t tend to trust politician promises regarding TasTAFE, here’s what the State Government was forced to commit to on the record: 

• Employees’ current Agreement, whether expired or not, will be carried over with no loss of pay or conditions.
• At the end of the current Agreement or the five year grandfathering period, take home pay cannot be reduced under the Fair Work Act.
• Any members on fixed term agreements, re-employed after June 30 with a new contract, will be on the same award and will receive the same conditions.
• For purposes of redeployment, employees will be treated as a public service employee for five years.

This is some consolation, but in no way forgives the Government’s betrayal of TasTAFE teachers and staff who have dedicated years of commitment to the organisation.