Employees of the Diocese of Broken Bay are subject to the following agreements: Collaborators of the Catholic Schools Office (CSO) of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle met at a working meeting against the „corporatization“ of the organization to discuss its company agreement. Company agreements are agreements concluded at company level between employers and employees on working and employment conditions. Steven Newman, a representative of the Union for Independent Education (IEU) chapter and a CSO collaborator, said the diocese had „refused“ to negotiate the coverage clause of the new company agreement. They were removed from the enterprise contract and obtained individual contracts with the „bare bone“ modern price. The EUI wants a coverage clause to ensure that all members remain covered by the agreement even if they are covered by common services. CSO Acting School Director Gerard Mowbray said in a statement that he had met with representatives and „reaffirmed the diocese`s sincere commitment to working with our colleagues to resolve the EA.“ „We appreciate our colleagues and that is why we are trying to work with them to find a timely solution to the proposed three-year agreement, which provides for a salary increase of 2.5% per year.“ It has become the Catholic enterprise and we are worried. Tim Crakanthorp, MP for Newcastle, said he was „certain that the treatment of [the collaborators] was in this appalling way against all Catholic teachings.“ He said the diocese`s appointment of an executive chief, Sean Scanlon, was „repugnant.“ Related: Catholic Schools Office employees take industrial action for the second time in two weeks „I am disappointed as a man of faith, baptized in the Catholic Church and now working for the CSO, that they are not practicing what they preach,“ he said. „They have seen their annual leave burden disappear, reduce personal leave, reduce long leave and withdraw their paid parental leave.“ More than a hundred CSO staff gathered in Wickham Park before marching past the diocese and CSO headquarters in Newcastle West and singing in protest. Five other people working in the secretariat were transferred to collective service on 25 November. Newman said the diocese had informed the union that it would move staff to common services in order to „optimize existing processes and anchor a whole focus of the diocese.“ Did you know that the Newcastle Herald, during your stay with us, offers news, daily email newsletters and more? „We were disappointed that the IEU blocked the negotiations and we very much hope that they will resume immediately.“ Members of the NSW Teachers Federation will stop working on Thursday. Sign up to get our breaking news and editor`s Daily Headlines with the best local news and stories….
