Teachers Locked Out! Relief Fund
Donation protected
Langports teachers locked out without pay. Just for wearing a union badge!
ELICOS Teachers at Langports Brisbane have been attempting to negotiate their first Collective Enterprise Agreement with their employer for over 12 months, but so far there has been no reasonable outcome.
The employer has demonstrated a lack of transparency and respect towards their teachers during these negotiations. Langports will not recognise the preparation and marking casual teachers perform, and have continuously stated that they will not offer a wage increase which is higher than the bare minimum of the Award.
Teachers employed by Langports, many of whom are vastly experienced, earn less than a 1st year graduate teacher does in a mainstream school.
Current Industrial Rules foreshadow employees taking Protected Industrial Action to break a bargaining deadlock. Because teachers have a genuine interest in the education and welfare of their students, the teachers at Langports gained approval for Protected Industrial Action which consisted on wearing badges containing “3R’s Recognise, Respect, Reward” (picture provided).
As a result of this very low level Industrial Action, Langports responded by locking their employees out of work for 1-5 days. This response action by the employer is totally disproportionate to the actions of the teachers. A lock out involves the employees going without pay for that period.
The values of recognition and respect, which Langports claim to embrace, are sadly lacking from the employer’s actions in the current enterprise bargaining process.
The IEUA has set up this page so that the teachers at Langports can receive support. That support can either be in the form of a message, or in the form of a donation.
Further Information
Teachers in the ELICOS industry are some of the most casualised, insecure and underpaid workers in the education sector in Australia, yet yield massive profits for one of our largest exports in the country.
International education boasts over $32.2 billion injection into our economy and this continues to grow, last year at 22%. 97% of the students who study in these ELICOS colleges continue into our Universities and other higher education facilities due to the quality of the teaching they receive.
Langports have been recognised internationally as the “Best English Language School in Australia” by their students for 6 years. The majority of their reviews make mention of the dedication of the teachers (both inside and outside of the classroom), the resources that the teachers develop, and the significant role that the teachers played in their positive experiences.
These outcomes have been built on the shoulders of these dedicated employees and yet there are teachers at Langports who have to work two or three jobs just to survive.
Langports is an employer who has a charitable foundation that sponsors and creates opportunities for disadvantaged children in Australia and overseas. Yet, they do not think of the children of their own employees.
When teachers asked Langports how they could risk their students’ futures and financially harm their employees and their families by locking them out for wearing a badge, Langports representatives stated “Because we can.”
Workers in Australia are continuously coming up against the challenges that are creating a power imbalance between the employer and the employee.
For workers to take any form of action it is a time consuming process and even then, can be challenged and halted by employers.
For the employer to take response action it is merely a requirement that a formal letter to be issued.
What we would all see as “fair” in the workplace, is no longer applicable in so many instances.
It is becoming highly visible that workers are losing their rights in the workplace and it takes courage and determination to stand up for oneself and their colleagues.
These teachers at Langports are fighting now for RESPECT.
A fair pay rise, whilst important, has been overtaken by more fundamental concerns.
Students have shown immense support for their teachers at Langports, fellow ELICOS teachers and so many others across the country have reached out and asked how they can help.
The messages of support have been overwhelming and very welcomed for these teachers as they have felt as though their voices have not been heard.
This is the strength and power of being in your union.
When you are up against Goliath, together we can grow and nurture these unbreakable bonds that carry employees through the most trying times.
You can leave your messages of support and donate to the relief fund to assist these teachers in ensuring their families are fed and their bills are paid during these lock outs.
As we are uncertain of how long this will continue we are uncertain to how much we need to raise.
We will also post updates here to keep you informed of their progress as there may be more future opportunities to demonstrate support for Langports teachers.
I am Cherie Wills, Growth Organiser from the Independent Education Union of Australia - QLD & NT Branch (IEUA-QNT). My role is to advocate, support and represent IEUA-QNT members who work at Langports Language College.
For more than twelve months, IEUA-QNT members at Langports have been attempting to negotiate a collective agreement to formalise their employment conditions. In the process of trying to negotiate this agreement, IEUA-QNT members at Langports have been locked out of their workplace and as a result have lost wages.
The IEUA-QNT have set up this campaign on GoFundMe to give members of the community the opportunity to raise funds for the Langports members who have lost wages so they can continue to support themselves and their families financially.
We also want to share their story with our community.
It is so very critical these stories are shared as widely as possible. We are all one bad employer away from this happening to us.
All donations received through GoFundMe and other sources will be paid into the Langports Relief Fund which has been established by the IEUA-QNT to support Langports members financially.
All money in the Langports Relief Fund will be paid directly to the IEUA-QNT members at Langports who have lost wages during the negotiations.
To date, the teachers at Langports have lost $5,484.17.
Thank you so much for supporting this campaign.
ELICOS Teachers at Langports Brisbane have been attempting to negotiate their first Collective Enterprise Agreement with their employer for over 12 months, but so far there has been no reasonable outcome.
The employer has demonstrated a lack of transparency and respect towards their teachers during these negotiations. Langports will not recognise the preparation and marking casual teachers perform, and have continuously stated that they will not offer a wage increase which is higher than the bare minimum of the Award.
Teachers employed by Langports, many of whom are vastly experienced, earn less than a 1st year graduate teacher does in a mainstream school.
Current Industrial Rules foreshadow employees taking Protected Industrial Action to break a bargaining deadlock. Because teachers have a genuine interest in the education and welfare of their students, the teachers at Langports gained approval for Protected Industrial Action which consisted on wearing badges containing “3R’s Recognise, Respect, Reward” (picture provided).
As a result of this very low level Industrial Action, Langports responded by locking their employees out of work for 1-5 days. This response action by the employer is totally disproportionate to the actions of the teachers. A lock out involves the employees going without pay for that period.
The values of recognition and respect, which Langports claim to embrace, are sadly lacking from the employer’s actions in the current enterprise bargaining process.
The IEUA has set up this page so that the teachers at Langports can receive support. That support can either be in the form of a message, or in the form of a donation.
Further Information
Teachers in the ELICOS industry are some of the most casualised, insecure and underpaid workers in the education sector in Australia, yet yield massive profits for one of our largest exports in the country.
International education boasts over $32.2 billion injection into our economy and this continues to grow, last year at 22%. 97% of the students who study in these ELICOS colleges continue into our Universities and other higher education facilities due to the quality of the teaching they receive.
Langports have been recognised internationally as the “Best English Language School in Australia” by their students for 6 years. The majority of their reviews make mention of the dedication of the teachers (both inside and outside of the classroom), the resources that the teachers develop, and the significant role that the teachers played in their positive experiences.
These outcomes have been built on the shoulders of these dedicated employees and yet there are teachers at Langports who have to work two or three jobs just to survive.
Langports is an employer who has a charitable foundation that sponsors and creates opportunities for disadvantaged children in Australia and overseas. Yet, they do not think of the children of their own employees.
When teachers asked Langports how they could risk their students’ futures and financially harm their employees and their families by locking them out for wearing a badge, Langports representatives stated “Because we can.”
Workers in Australia are continuously coming up against the challenges that are creating a power imbalance between the employer and the employee.
For workers to take any form of action it is a time consuming process and even then, can be challenged and halted by employers.
For the employer to take response action it is merely a requirement that a formal letter to be issued.
What we would all see as “fair” in the workplace, is no longer applicable in so many instances.
It is becoming highly visible that workers are losing their rights in the workplace and it takes courage and determination to stand up for oneself and their colleagues.
These teachers at Langports are fighting now for RESPECT.
A fair pay rise, whilst important, has been overtaken by more fundamental concerns.
Students have shown immense support for their teachers at Langports, fellow ELICOS teachers and so many others across the country have reached out and asked how they can help.
The messages of support have been overwhelming and very welcomed for these teachers as they have felt as though their voices have not been heard.
This is the strength and power of being in your union.
When you are up against Goliath, together we can grow and nurture these unbreakable bonds that carry employees through the most trying times.
You can leave your messages of support and donate to the relief fund to assist these teachers in ensuring their families are fed and their bills are paid during these lock outs.
As we are uncertain of how long this will continue we are uncertain to how much we need to raise.
We will also post updates here to keep you informed of their progress as there may be more future opportunities to demonstrate support for Langports teachers.
I am Cherie Wills, Growth Organiser from the Independent Education Union of Australia - QLD & NT Branch (IEUA-QNT). My role is to advocate, support and represent IEUA-QNT members who work at Langports Language College.
For more than twelve months, IEUA-QNT members at Langports have been attempting to negotiate a collective agreement to formalise their employment conditions. In the process of trying to negotiate this agreement, IEUA-QNT members at Langports have been locked out of their workplace and as a result have lost wages.
The IEUA-QNT have set up this campaign on GoFundMe to give members of the community the opportunity to raise funds for the Langports members who have lost wages so they can continue to support themselves and their families financially.
We also want to share their story with our community.
It is so very critical these stories are shared as widely as possible. We are all one bad employer away from this happening to us.
All donations received through GoFundMe and other sources will be paid into the Langports Relief Fund which has been established by the IEUA-QNT to support Langports members financially.
All money in the Langports Relief Fund will be paid directly to the IEUA-QNT members at Langports who have lost wages during the negotiations.
To date, the teachers at Langports have lost $5,484.17.
Thank you so much for supporting this campaign.
Fundraising team: IEUA-QNT (3)
Cherie Wills
Organizer
Raised $988 from 16 donations
Petrie Terrace QLD
Aaron Watson
Team member
Raised $50 from 1 donation
CHUN QIN
Team member
This team raised $2,752 from 30 other donations.
