For everyone Union Yarns: Ensuring cultural entitlements for Mob
The AEU made significant gains for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members in the VGSA 2022. Now we are working to making sure these entitlements are properly respected and implemented in schools.
In the most recent Victorian Government Schools Agreement (VGSA 2022), AEU Mob members won key entitlements in our workplaces. These were important improvements for First Nations members – and the AEU is committed to ensuring that these entitlements are respected and implemented.
Among these wins was improved access to cultural and ceremonial leave, including leave to attend Aboriginal community meetings, NAIDOC Week, to participate in First Peoples’ Assembly and attend ceremonial obligations.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander employees are entitled to access up to three days of paid leave per year for ceremonial purposes and one day of paid leave to participate in National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week activities. Additionally, these employees are entitled to seek approval to attend Aboriginal community meetings during paid working hours.
In some instances there is confusion in schools about how these entitlements should be applied in practice. The AEU has recently been in discussions with the Department of Education to clearly define the process for First Nations members to access cultural leave and how schools should respond when a request is made. This has led to a positive outcome for Mob in schools, including an updated policy.
Mob should not be asked for inappropriate levels of proof when applying for cultural leave.
A key outcome is that principals and school leadership must now contact the Department’s workplace relations if they need further information on the granting of this leave. This is to ensure that Mob are not asked for inappropriate levels of proof when applying for this leave and ensures there is no added burden or stress placed on Mob when requesting the leave.
The other big win in the VGSA 2022 was the acknowledgement of cultural responsibility. Clause 24 (17) reads: Where an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander employee agrees to undertake work that requires a cultural responsibility, the impact of that responsibility will be taken into account in the context of the employee’s duties and should, if appropriate, following consultation under clause 12, be the subject of a time release and/or a special payment. The principal, as the Employer’s representative, has responsibility for determining the time release (if any) and/or special payment (if any) applicable for the cultural responsibility.
Put simply, schools must consider the cultural responsibilities undertaken by Mob, and the impact of these responsibilities in the context of the employee’s overall duties, to determine whether any time release and/or special payment should be applied. However, there are currently no guidelines from the Department to ensure schools are acknowledging cultural responsibility properly.
We would like to hear more about this from members so that we can better implement this entitlement. If you have applied for the acknowledgment of cultural responsibility, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch at [email protected] or [email protected].
See the Cultural and Ceremonial Leave Policy here.
