What have I achieved?

When I wrote what I wanted to achieve I could not have anticipated the refusal to provide any transition and certainly not the destruction of files that subsequently occurred. This delayed progress for at least 6 months. I can state now that I seriously underestimated the work that needed to be done. The AEU NT processes and procedures had remained virtually unchanged for at least 6 years. Our member records were seriously out of date and the system used had not been developed to keep up with new standards expected and possible. Our computer system was totally inadequate. What I struggled with most was a culture that had been allowed to develop which blocked change and improvement. It was always stated that there were no problems and nothing that could be improved. It has been a very challenging 3 years. I am very proud of the changes Matthew Cranitch as President and I have made to how the AEU NT operates.

Governance

We now have a modern computer system, through Area9 Cloud, that will facilitate whatever changes we want to make in the years ahead. It provides a secure backup of all material in case of misadventure or deliberate actions to destroy records. We have a full MYOB accounting system in place for the first time which improves control of expenditures and allows for fuller, more timely reports. Our accounts are done by a fully trained person and banking procedures have changed to ensure greater oversight.

The AEU NT Executive now receive extensive papers and information and are fully involved in decision making. This includes the decisions made in preparing our recent Log of Claims and how we are negotiating to achieve them.

Improved Service

We have a dedicated full time membership officer and Organisers for both Central Australia and the Top End.

The service now provided by the AEU NT is more professional and accountable.

There has been a demonstrable improvement in the public image of the AEU NT as a modern professional organisation with representatives who look and act professionally at all times.

The move to a modern organisation is evident in many ways. The Annual AEU NT Conference 2013 was held at the Crown Plaza, Alice Springs. It had a professional look, and delegates felt welcomed. There's a saying: "ill environment, ill people, ill work". The 2013 Annual Conference was the best yet: delegates enjoyed the experience and achieved more outcomes by motions actioned than ever before.

The same applies to our office. An upgrade over Christmas (thanks Matthew and most of all Jodie) means our office looks like somewhere people work and where they take pride in their work. It is somewhere teachers can come to meet with our staff and be comfortable doing so. Hopefully, down the track, it will be a place where teachers can come to socialise.

Finally, you will all have seen the improvement in the Educator during our time in office. Firstly, we are moving towards being able to send this to you electronically, with some savings in cost and use of paper already. It looks better, and its content has improved. This will be an area of ongoing improvement over the next year.

Achievements

The achievements I am most proud of and which provide me with the greatest satisfaction are those related to helping individual members. These are obviously confidential but I do assure you that these concerns have remained my highest priority and will always be so.

The 2011 Annual Conference asked that a replacement for the outdated 91/38 statement of teacher duties be developed. This had been in two previous Enterprise Agreements and no progress had been made. I negotiated the new Teacher Responsibilities Guide which I sent to all sub branches and then took to the 2012 Annual Conference for approval. Members accepted it unanimously and it has been the most significant document we have ever had. Members across all sectors and locations have used it to begin and guide discussion about their own jobs and the way their schools operate. It has brought about very significant change of practice and has addressed the concerns that members had regarding increasing meetings, more yard duties and greater restriction on what they did in their non-contact time.

One of the first challenge I faced as Secretary was to develop a CT5-CT6 assessment process that was required by the recently signed 2010 Enterprise Agreement. The task was made more difficult by the fact that not a single document was in the office to indicate what the AEU NT had actually agreed to. The Department of Education (DoE) put forward a very complex assessment and were adamant that previous negotiators had accepted this concept. I refused to accept, I took it to the 2011 Annual Conference where approval was given to reject it and the many thousands of dollars of pay that were contingent on agreement. This strong position saw DoE apply for additional time to negotiate, appoint a new negotiating team and eventually agree to the current process. The pay rises were given and we have a fair assessment process which has not had a single member have difficulty over.

I have installed a new membership system which has significantly improved our ability to contact members and through which we are steadily improving the accuracy of our member records. Prior to this we could only contact members by sending emails to the one sub branch representative and that person passing the message around. At one point we had reliable contact with only 25% of sub branches because the update of membership lists had fallen to that level of response. We now can and do email every member directly ( still work to be done correcting and entering some email addresses, some still have latis!). Sub branches are contacted automatically every 3 months to get updated member information. Members have received regular EBA updates and were invited to participate in two surveys. Responses to these surveys shaped our Log of Claims and have played a critical part in guiding our actions since.

I have replaced the inadequate computer system with an Area9 Cloud service that ensures we have the latest software and the highest security and reliability. All Officers can for the first time access our central files while out of office which has been of great benefit to members as we visit work sites across the NT.

I have changed the way the AEU NT Executive receives information and greatly increased its real involvement in decision making. The best example of this is how the current EBA has proceeded. Executive had the feedback from our member survey to inform it in deliberations on what our Log of Claims would be. The breadth and quality of the claim is a credit to Executive. They have been kept fully informed and have made all critical decisions needed as the EBA has gone ahead.