Chapter 1 Background Chapter 2 Who are TAFE Teachers? Chapter 3 Teachers' Work Chapter 4 A Career in TAFE	Chapter 5 Work and Family Chapter 6 Union Activism Chapter 7 Non-Members of the Union Chapter 8 Priorities for Action
Chapter 9 Conclusions and Recommendations

The aim of this project has been to look at the changing nature of teachers' work and workload, the impact on teachers' lives, and the priorities they see for union action. It arose as an initiative of the AEU national women's program and has a particular but not exclusive focus on women.

The survey was sent randomly to 2000 TAFE members across Australia. In addition, 600 questionnaires were distributed to casual/sessional teachers via AEU college/institute networks. The overall response rate was 35.5%.

Chapter 2: Who are TAFE teachers?

TAFE teachers are highly experienced professionals, with 30.4% having worked in TAFE for 20 years or more. About three in five teachers who responded are permanent/ongoing and about two in five were employed either in fixed term/temporary positions or as casual/sessional teachers. Generally all three forms of employment apply across systems, although in NSW there are no fixed term/temporary positions. Women were more likely to be precariously employed and more likely to work part time.

Women and men tend to be clustered in different teaching areas. While one third of men teach in the Engineering, Processing Discipline Group, the largest cluster of women (28.6%) are found in the Social, Educational & Employment Skills Group. Precarious employment is not evenly distributed across the teaching areas. In addition, women are far more likely than men to be teaching entry level/preparatory/Certificate I & II, while men are more likely to be teaching initial vocational/Certificate III & IV levels.

The average age for women teachers is 46.8 and for men, 49.6. Nearly half of all men (46%) are aged 51 or older, and 27.9% of women.

Four out of five teachers have a spouse or partner. While eight out of ten women have a partner who works full time, six out of ten men have a partner who works part time or has no paid job.

About 80% of teachers also have children, and half of all teachers have children under 18. Slightly more than one in five teachers also have caring responsibilities for aged family members. The majority of women with children (52.5%) say that they are the prime caregiver for children and 42.9% say they share it equally with their partner. In contrast, 30.8% of men say that their partner is the prime caregiver and 54.9% that they share it equally.

Chapter 3: Teachers' work

There are some complexities in looking at hours of work because of interstate differences describing total paid hours or attendance time requirements. The comments made by teachers about the impact of their work on their lives suggests that the hours they say they work may, if anything, be underestimated.

On average, full time teachers are working 7 hours unpaid over time a week, roughly equivalent to 2160 additional effective full time (EFT) teachers. Part time teachers do an average of 7.7 hours unpaid overtime each work, roughly equivalent to 4600 additional EFT teachers across Australia. In total, teachers are doing additional, unpaid work which appears to be equivalent to something like an additional 6500 positions Australia-wide.

Asked what the activities were that led them to work more than their official hours, teachers covered a fairly broad range of activities. The top five factors that each teacher listed were analysed. Preparation, administration (including accountability requirements), correction/assessment, special responsibilities like coordination and meetings are the most dominant factors in increasing workload. Curriculum issues such as customisation and development were also listed by about one third of teachers.

Over half of all teachers listed funding cuts as one of the five changes that had had the most impact on their work, and nearly half listed the constant change and restructure. Other factors most often listed included reporting and accountability requirements, the cuts to teaching staff, the changes in delivery and curriculum, the reduced job security/greater casualisation. Almost one in three listed curriculum changes and about the same proportion mentioned Training Packages as amongst the five changes which have had the most impact on their work. Cuts to support staff were also cited by one quarter of teachers. It is the intensity of the ever-increasing responsibilities, and the interaction between them, that comes through clearly in teachers' comments.

Asked about the impact of these changes on their work and life, 86% of teachers say that their workload has increased or significantly increased and about the same number that stress at work has increased. More than two thirds (68%) say that their ability to maintain professional standards/provide quality education has been eroded. In addition, 61% say that professional interaction between staff has been eroded and half say that their relations/interactions with students have been eroded. While nearly 44% say that their ability to maintain and update their technical skills has been increased, about 30% say it has been decreased. Teachers themselves are expressing concerns about the quality of teaching and learning that can be provided in the current environment. The majority of teachers also say that their family life has been eroded as a result of the changes they have experienced in their work.

Chapter 4: A career in TAFE

The majority of all teachers (69.2%) undertook professional/staff development in the last semester. This was true for 71.9% of women and 60.1% of men. Nearly two thirds of permanent/ongoing (72.1%) and fixed term/temporary (72.4%) teachers had undertaken such professional/staff development, compared to 56.5% of casual/sessional staff.

Nearly 40% of all teachers reported undertaking this professional/staff development in their own time, with another 43% undertaking it at least partly in their own time. While 29.6% of permanent/ongoing teachers undertook it solely in their own time, this was true for 37.3% of fixed term/temporary teachers and for 79.4% of casual/sessional teachers. Yet over half of the casual/sessional teachers had undertaken some professional/staff development in the last semester.

Their desire to be able to undertake it during paid time is a theme returned to several times. At the same time, it should be recognised that most teachers, including permanent/ongoing teachers, are continuing to make a significant personal contribution to their own professional development despite the many pressures on their time.

Overall, 60.9% reported that the institute had paid in full for the professional/staff development they had undertaken although this was more likely to be true for permanent staff than for casual/sessional staff.

More than one quarter of teachers also reported that they were engaged in formal study: 30.1% of women and 23.6% of men. While about one quarter of permanent/ongoing teachers (25.1%) and casual/sessional teachers (24.3%) were engaged in formal study, this was true for 45.2% of fixed term/temporary teachers.

More than seven in ten teachers have a degree, postgraduate certificate or diploma or a postgraduate degree as their highest teacher/training qualification. However both fixed term/temporary (15.6%) and casual/sessional teachers (11.7%) were more likely to have the Certificate IV as their highest teacher/training qualification than were permanent/ongoing teachers (3.4%). They were also more likely to have no teacher/training qualification or a 'Train the Trainer' qualification, but the overall number of teachers reporting this was very small, 2.7% overall and 7.2% of casual/sessional teachers.

Over half of all teachers (51.6%) reported that their highest relevant industry/trade qualification was a degree or postgraduate qualification, and 37.5% that it was a VET certificate, diploma, or advanced diploma. Women were somewhat more likely than men to have a degree or postgraduate qualifications and men were more likely than women to have a VET qualification.

The majority of TAFE teachers began their career in industry (51%) and more than one in three (36.4%) came from teaching in another education sector. The overwhelming majority of TAFE teachers see teaching in TAFE as their main career, including 75.7% of casual/sessional teachers and 83.1% of fixed term/temporary teachers.

Even amongst teachers who work part time or irregular hours, 87.2% get their main income from teaching in TAFE. At the same time, slightly more than half of these teachers also have other jobs, in TAFEs, industry, other education sectors, in order to make ends meet. Over 45% would like to increase their hours or work full time.

Permanent/ongoing men (65.5%) are somewhat more likely than women (52.7%) to have applied for promotion. Of applicants for promotion, just over half have been successful once or twice, and about one third have not been successful.

Teachers were asked to comment on what obstacles, if any, they saw in applying for promotion. More than one in four indicated that there was a lack of positions, often because of funding cuts and restructure and new flatter structures. Nearly one quarter of teachers indicated in various ways that applying for promotion was unattractive to them currently, either because of their concern about the workloads, stress and pay levels involved in current promotion positions, or because they just thought it wasn't worth it. Others (about 10%) saw the current management culture as an obstacle.

When asked what structural, cultural or other changes, if any, would increase their chances and or desire for promotion, almost one quarter identified the need for a change in management style or culture as an issue. Many teachers saw management as having turned away from a prime focus on education as a result of the current financial and cultural pressures: others said that management needed to value and recognise teachers' work; and some teachers saw the need to build an effective, open and competent management structure. Other issues included the need for greater stability and for additional resources for TAFE. About one in five said that workloads would have to be reduced or conditions improved for them to be interested in a management position. Many teachers (around 13%) said that they wanted a career path which enabled them to achieve promotion without leaving teaching.

When asked about their future career plans, the majority see their future as either teaching or gaining a promotion position in TAFE. However around 40% of women and 35% of men who are permanent/ongoing indicated that they were looking at other options, such as a career outside teaching or in another sector, non-teaching work, retirement or other options or they were uncertain about their goals. The vast majority of both fixed term/temporary and casual/sessional teachers want ongoing employment in TAFE.

Teachers were asked to indicate how they thought the wider community viewed the TAFE teaching profession. The majority of TAFE teachers have either a fairly neutral perception (39.1%) or believed that the community holds TAFE teachers in regard or high regard (25.3%).

Chapter 5: Work and family

The concept of 'family' has a range of meanings which can cover highly varied and complex sets of relationships. However the vast majority of teachers do have a partner and most have children. But even teachers who live alone and without other relatives or relationships for which they have a major responsibility, do still have household responsibilities. And all teachers want to have the time to have a personal life.

It was interesting to find that men (67.3%) were more likely than women (53.1%) to say that the changes in their work/workload had eroded their family life. However when asked whether work responsibilities had an impact on teachers' capacity to fulfill their family/household responsibilities this pattern was reversed, with 70% of women and 65.4% of men agreeing that this had occurred. Whether or not this difference is significant, the underlying point is that teachers' work is having a very significant impact on their personal lives. All but a handful of teachers feel that there is not a proper balance in their lives. Many teachers feel torn between the needs of their work and the needs of their family, and the result is, often, a feeling of powerlessness and stress. Teachers also feel angry that other aspects of their lives are diminished: the chance to have hobbies, to play sport, to have a social life. It is in reading teachers' comments that the depth of these concerns becomes stark.

Access to 'family friendly' employment provisions, such as paid maternity/paternity leave, family leave, family emergency/carer's leave, is dependent on teachers' mode of employment and the provisions available in each state and territory. Permanent/ongoing teachers tend to have access to such provisions, to greater or lesser degree. Teachers working on a casual/sessional basis by definition do not have access to almost any of these provisions.

Amongst permanent/ongoing women, 22.7% indicated that they had accessed paid maternity leave, while this was true for 12% of fixed term/temporary women teachers. This is an entitlement to which casual/sessional teachers lack access. While more than one third of both permanent/ongoing women and men had used family emergency/carer's leave, this was true for one quarter of fixed term/temporary women and a handful of casual/sessional women. No men in precarious employment had used this provision, although the numbers involved here are small.

The majority of women, including the majority of permanent/ongoing women (54.7%), had taught part time at some time, as had 42.7% of all men and 27.9% of permanent/ongoing men teachers.

Almost half of all men (56.9%) indicated that they had accessed flexible hours, including 58.8% of permanent/ongoing men. In contrast, this was the case for 38.3% of women, including 43.5% of permanent/ongoing women. The purpose of using the provisions was not asked about.

Teachers who had used these provisions were overwhelmingly positive about their experience, although there were some problems and constraints as well, as 28.3% of teachers noted. For example, it was for some teachers a problem to get back into full time work once they had moved into part time for a period.

Asked what other provisions would be useful, the most frequently mentioned issue was access to subsidised and/or campus child care. Getting access to jobsharing was also an issue for one in five teachers. Flexible work hours was an issue for one in four permanent/ongoing teachers but less so for fixed term temporary and casual/sessional teachers; hardly surprising since they often have too much 'flexibility' in their work hours. One in three casual/sessional teachers mentioned a desire for access to (paid) family emergency/carer's leave. Regular hours and job security, and access to leave provisions of this type, were issues for teachers facing precarious employment in this question as in others. While the number of teachers who said they needed more information about their entitlements was small, this is something that needs to be addressed.

Chapter 6: Union activism

Members were asked to rank in priority order their reasons for joining the union. Their answers show that union members see the union's role not only in protecting their conditions, but as being the professional voice of teachers and an advocate for public education. In total 80.5% listed the protection of employment/industrial conditions as one of their top priorities. The next most important reasons were promoting and upholding the profession (64.5%) and solidarity/ideological/personal commitment (54%). Collective bargaining followed at 52.7% and promoting/protecting public education was also mentioned by the majority (51.5%) of teachers.

Just under four in ten members said that they usually attend union meetings, with permanent/ongoing teachers (45.8%) more likely to attend regularly than fixed term/temporary (38%) and casual/sessional members (18.7%). When asked why they did not, one third of teachers listed lack of time, and a significant proportion of others indicated that they were teaching or the meetings were at the wrong time. Meetings being at other campuses or involving travel that teachers could not manage was another significant reason.

Teachers who were not actively involved in the union were asked why in a structured question. The majority (51.5%) again indicated that they had too much work. More than one in three said they were happy with their current level of involvement and just over a quarter indicated that they were not more involved because they were happy with the union. For 39.7%, the timing or location of meetings was again the issue and just under 15% said that they lacked timely information. These latter issues were stronger amongst fixed term/temporary and casual/sessional teachers. When asked what would encourage teachers to be more involved, the issues were similar, with time being the main constraint for four in ten teachers. One in ten casual/sessional teachers said that job security, or more work hours, would encourage greater involvement in the union, and about the same number wanted to see the union show support and concern for their issues.

Part time teachers and those who work irregular or non-standard hours were asked how best the union could best contact and involve them. Apart from written materials and the use of email, local representatives have an important role to play in ensuring that casual/sessional teachers can stay in touch.

A total of 10.7% of women and 20.9% of men who are members say that they currently hold a position in the union, such as workplace representative, member of the local executive, Council delegate and so on. There is also a pool of experienced activists who do not currently hold a position but who have done so in the past.

Chapter 7: Non-members of the union

In total, 70 teachers who responded to the questionnaire were not members of the union. Of these, 30% indicated that they were members of another union. When asked why they chose not to join the union, non-members gave a range of reasons, including feeling that the union was not effective, that it was unnecessary and/or that the irregularity and uncertainty of their work stopped them joining, that the costs were too great or that they did not know enough about it.

When asked what the union could do that would encourage them to join, teachers' responses included the need to improve conditions and salaries, particularly for part time and sessional teachers, and to work for job security. There were also proposals for reduced fees for casual/sessional teachers and for members of other unions. Being seen to be actively engaged in pursuing issues of concern to precariously employed teachers is in itself important. But local issues are also important, such as ensuring that communications reach part time teachers and that the local branch/sub-branch is seen to be working to improve conditions for part time and sessional teachers.

Chapter 8: Priorities for action

Restoring a viable quality TAFE system was in the top five priorities of three out of four teachers. Somewhat over half listed security of employment and better conditions. A fraction under half listed providing a professional voice. Protection of individuals was cited most frequently after those four priorities. For precariously employed teachers, the number one issue was security of employment. While 73.6% of casual/sessional teachers listed employment security in their top priorities, so too did 43.1% of permanent/ongoing teachers. Better conditions were seen as a priority across all teachers, but particularly by casual/sessional teachers. Reduced workload was more of an issue for permanent/ongoing teachers than for other teachers.

Teachers who included better conditions as a high priority were asked to nominate the three particular improvements they would most like to see. Half of all responses included general and specific claims for maintenance of, or more often, improvement in conditions of work. There was a recognition that teachers' work has changed and that this needs to be addressed in the ways in which work arrangements are structured and regulated. Teachers also spoke of the need to give temporary teachers access to permanency and thus equivalent conditions to ongoing teachers. Measures to reduce workload were cited by nearly 64% of ongoing and 25% of temporary/casual teachers, with key stressors being the need to reduce delivery hours/increase time for other requirements, and the burden of administrative duties that teachers have increasingly faced. And nearly half of all teachers (53% of ongoing teachers) listed the need for increased funding and resources.

Teachers were asked to make specific suggestions for political, industrial or professional action by which the union could address increased workload, casualisation, funding cuts and/or other key changes impacting on their work. Many teachers raised issues related to conditions, pay, structures, funding and job security. Of those who focussed on action proposals, nearly one in three mentioned the need to engage in the public education campaign, to alert students and the community about what is happening to TAFE. More than one in ten also talked specifically about the need to lobby politicians, particularly about funding to TAFE and/or education generally. Others talked about industrial campaigning, recruitment, and the need for new forums to encourage greater involvement particularly for part time and precariously employed staff.

Teachers were also asked to identify changes/resources, that would improve the situation of women at their institute. While nearly half of the women responded to this question, less than one third of men responded. The issue mentioned most often, by 18.5% of women and 12.9% of men, is that of child care. Women (15.8%) were more likely than men (4.8%) to argue that a change in culture was necessary to improve the situation for women, and that more women were needed in management. Around one in ten women identified the need for access to professional development, training and/or mentoring and about the same proportion mentioned improvements to facilities, such as better toilet facilities and security lighting. About one in three women focussed on issues that relate to the situation of teachers generally, including 13% who argued that women and men face the same situation and/or because no such targeted improvements were required. Over half the responses from men also focussed on general issues or said that strategies should be targeted at women and men, including 22.6% who said such targeted strategies were not required and 12.9% who said that women were already advantaged.

Chapter 9: Conclusions and recommendations

Even after twelve pages of questions, teachers took up the final invitation to add any further comments they wished to make. Teachers want to be heard and far too many see the system as not listening. This must change.

Teachers are committed to public education and to the provision of a high quality public education for their students. They see that the quality of education they can offer is being undermined and in many ways, they see themselves as trying to maintain it against all the prevailing pressures. The cost to teachers themselves has been very heavy.

Underlying much of what teachers have said is the under-resourcing of TAFE. The enormous growth in teachers' workloads, the lack of support, the growth of precarious employment: all are linked to the resource pressures TAFE has faced. Many teachers are finding the pressures of their work increasingly unsustainable. They will leave, unless something is done.

Teachers also want to be valued as the highly skilled and committed professionals they are. They want to have their work, their skills and their qualifications recognised and valued by their employers and managers. They want a management culture that is driven by a commitment to quality education, rather than the currently ever-present budget pressures.

Teachers also want job security. The mode of employment forced on the vast majority of precariously employed teachers bears no relationship to their aspirations as teachers who are committed to careers in TAFE. The pressures on precariously employed teachers are large, and unfair.

The reality of all of this is that teachers are stressed and overworked and they feel that their personal lives are carrying the costs. Some have resigned already, others are looking for a way out. But more than one in ten teachers are already 56 or older, and could leave tomorrow should they choose. In addition, a large proportion of TAFE teachers are nearing 55 and could take early retirement in the next few years unless something is done to make their working lives more attractive. Even if these issues are addressed, which is a matter of some urgency, there would still be a strong need for some serious succession planning.

The union will continue to campaign around these issues, and will continue to explore new methods of communication, involvement and action, including better ways of involving part time and casual/sessional teachers.

But it is more than time that governments took very seriously their responsibility to their teachers, and to ensuring that our national public TAFE system is of the highest quality.