School bursar dispute continues

School bursar dispute continues

By Sue Bull

CANBERRA — Locked-out school bursars met with ACT education minister Bill Stefaniak on August 3 and came away empty handed.

Stefaniak maintained he would have a proposal for the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) members by August 10 and asked that, as a show of good faith, the bursars lift their bans. At a meeting that followed, bursars decided to maintain the bans and set up a continuing protest outside the ACT Legislative Assembly building.

CPSU ACT government section secretary Tim Gooden told Green Left Weekly the minister's offer was "nothing short of an insult. We've had a claim before the government for two and half years, and they expect these women to wait patiently for yet another week."

The school bursars, who perform duties associated with finances and contracting at the school level, have been arguing since 1997 for an upgrade of their positions.

The protest outside the Legislative Assembly has attracted widespread community support and a lot of media attention. Liberal politicians have been severely embarrassed by the bursars' presence, and Labor opposition politicians have been supportive.

Meanwhile, CPSU members and delegates have been out fundraising. A soup kitchen set up at the Education Department building in Tuggeranong raised $500 from CPSU and Australian Education Union members. A barbecue at the CPSU office on August 6 raised $1000.

Donations or messages of support can be sent c/- CPSU, PO Box 925, Dickson 2602, or faxed to (02) 6257 6181, or e-mailed to <cpsuact@cpsu.org>.

From GLW issue 371