Bargaining Loop #5 – 13 May 2026 | 🖨️ Download printable PDF
Queensland Catholic school employers showed they have no plan to address the 10-25% pay inequity facing school officers – as collective bargaining negotiations continued yesterday.
In short:
- Classroom support staff are paid between 10-25% less than those in NSW Catholic schools doing the same work.
- Employers have showed they are unwilling to address this unfair pay inequity.
- Employers are still yet to respond to the employee wage claim for increases of 4% each year over the life of the agreement.
- A strong response from IEU Chapters is essential to progress our union’s bargaining claims.
School officer pay inequity cannot be ignored
Employers have known for a long time that they underpay school officers for the work they do.
Yesterday, employee representatives proved it, tabling clear evidence that cannot be ignored.
Classroom support staff in Queensland Catholic schools are paid between 10-25% less than those in New South Wales Catholic schools doing the same work.
Classifications line up, position descriptions line up – demonstrating a clear underpayment in Queensland.
Unfortunately, the employers’ response at yesterday’s bargaining meeting showed they have no plan to address this unfair pay inequity.
It remains to be seen how much of this wage deficit can be made up in this round of bargaining, but employers must start to address it.
- Wage rates for full-time roles (38 hours per week).
- Classroom Assistants are typically on fractional employment equivalent to around 80% of the full-time rates.
- NSW roles commence at classification Level 3.1 (entry rate) – no Level 1 or 2 exists.
- Classification scale compressed to aid comparison.
Employers yet to respond to 4% wage claim
Employers are yet to respond to the employee wage claim of 4% per year over the life of the agreement.
Employers have made no response to over 20 matters in the employee log of claims.
Despite this delay, employers maintain their threat to deny backpay to employees if they do not vote in favour of a proposed agreement by 31 October 2026.
ACTION NOW Week | 18-22 May
Our union has a clear plan for ACTION NOW on the key issues in schools:
- Addressing the workload crisis.
- Wages that recognise the value of their work.
- Implementing contemporary rights at work.
- Recognising specialist and leadership roles.
Our union will be calling on Chapters to get involved in ACTION NOW Week throughout Week 5 (18-22 May).
Building a strong employee voice is essential to progress our bargaining claims.
ℹ️ ACTION NOW Week materials have been posted to Chapters. Further information will be emailed to IEU Delegates and Chapters this week.
Next bargaining meeting
The next bargaining meeting will be held on Thursday, 4 June 2026.
Find out more about the employee claims
Members can visit the Action Now Claim Hub for a full overview of bargaining claims or watch the video below.