92 In final submissions, the Federation stated that the salary of a full-time teacher, prior to the interim salary increase awarded in December 2003, was $58,992. It was submitted that a PTC teacher who worked equivalent number of face-to-face teaching hours with the obligation to perform related duties, attended for five additional weeks and performed 30 hours of duties other than teaching, was paid $40,791, that is, 31 per cent less than a full time colleague. The Federation's submission is validated to some extent by the figures in the table above, but a precise comparison between PTC and FT teachers' salaries is not available. On the evidence, we accept that there is an inequity when a comparison is made of the work of PTC and FT teachers during teaching weeks.
93 As regards travel, there was evidence that it was "extremely difficult" for PTC teachers to access a TAFE vehicle, even when required to fulfil duties which satisfied the nominal requirement for a TAFE vehicle. Ms Bindels, a PTC teacher of Staff Training, Workplace Assessor, Communications and Retail, gave evidence as follows:
In one area in which I teach, I believe that I am particularly exploited and, because my duties have not yet been properly defined, I feel I have no recourse to complain. During the time when my students are on work placement, a mandatory part of their curriculum, I am expected to travel from workplace to workplace assessing on-the-job trainees and I do not get a meal allowance or a travel allowance, nor am I permitted, as a part time casual teacher, access to a TAFE car. The Board of Studies requires that I spend one hour with each student assessing them. In 2002, preparation for work placement alone took 10 hours during which time I made numerous phone calls; found work placements for the students; attended to paperwork and prepared students for their duties and employer expectations. I had 17 students in this particular class. I travelled 100 kilometres and spent 35 hours assessing. I was paid a total of four hours only. When I confronted the Head Teacher about this, I was reluctantly given four more hours. Two weeks later, the last class of the year was cancelled, thus my section recouped the four hours extra given to me. This year I will have 10 students. I will again only be allotted four hours pay.
94 Ms Bindels was not the only witness to talk of classes being cancelled prior to the expected end of the semester. We note the Award provision set out in Clause 59 at 59.12, Class Cancellation allows, in effect, for any class to be cancelled without reason and without payment to the PTC teacher so long as at least two hours notice is provided. Clause 59.12.1 reads as follows:
Where a part time casual teacher reports for duty on any day on the basis of a request by an authorised officer and then is advised that their services are not required or receive less than two hours notice of cancellation, the teacher shall be entitled to receive payment for the scheduled duties.
95 Ms Reilly gave evidence about the lack of travel allowance entitlements for PTC teachers. She said:
In 2002 I attended two staff developments in Newcastle. One of them was a teaching day and I was paid for my normal teaching hours. The other was not a teaching day but it was expected that I attend. That day consisted of two hours travel and approximately four to five hours of learning. I was not paid for any of this. A full time teacher is paid for both.
WORKFORCE FLEXIBILITY ISSUES
96 The increased use of PTC teachers over recent years was noted in evidence. In 1982, 90.2 per cent of all part time TAFE teachers in the Sydney Metropolitan area taught less than 10 hours per week and 1.3 per cent taught over 20 hours per week. In 1989 this figure was 91 per cent teaching up to 10 hours per week and 0.9 per cent over 20 hours. In 2002 the figures given in evidence by Graeme Dodds, the Relieving Executive Director, TAFE, were not strictly comparable at the 10 hour level (66 per cent taught less than 8 hours and a further 10.1 per cent taught 8 to less than 12 hours), but showed that 9.8 per cent of PTC teachers taught 20 hours or more per week.
97 The evidence of Mr Peddle, the Director of the Illawarra Institute of TAFE, was that it was more economical to employ a PTC teacher than a FT teacher, and that cost was a relevant factor in deciding to engage a PTC teacher. Mr Keeley, the chairperson of the Federation's Part Time Casual Special Interest Group, gave evidence as follows:
Many part time casual teachers have reported to the group that they have been requested to work extra hours unpaid by supervisors who cite insufficient funds. Often, such teachers have reported to the group that they are placed in the invidious position of either requesting payment for these hours or seeing courses cut and students suffer.
98 Some teachers who wished to gain employment as FT teachers noted an additional difficulty. The evidence revealed that PTC teachers are not eligible to apply for positions that are advertised internally, but only for those that are advertised externally. The rate of advertising of FT teaching vacancies was particularly low. One PTC teacher, Ms Doyle, said she "lived in hope of finding permanent work during the last 15 years". Another, Ms Barnes, said there has only been one FT position advertised in the section where she works over the last 12 years. Ms Noltorp said that at least ten PTC teachers applied for a temporary/permanent half-time position advertised within her department. Ms Reilly said that no positions had become available on the Central Coast in her area of teaching since she was employed as a PTC teacher in 1995.
99 Mr Dodds gave evidence about the dynamic, demand-driven nature of TAFE service provision and the resultant pressures on workforce planning. The flexibility is maintained by "a carefully managed balance" of the appropriate contributions of expertise and experience of PTC teachers and permanent teachers. The wide variety in the ratio of PTC to permanent teachers across course areas reflected the relatively stable industry demand in traditional and well-established areas such as panel beating, architectural drafting, electrical trades, metal fabrication and plumbing, compared with the less traditional and more recently evolving areas of TAFE course provision such as welfare, adult basic education, information technology and nursing studies.
100 We consider that the application by the Federation does not necessarily interfere with the capacity of the TAFE Commission to manage its workforce in a flexible way in so far as it sets no limits on either the numbers or proportions of teachers to be employed on a FT or a PTC basis, nor does it set any other restriction or hindrance on the employment of PTC teachers. In our view, the outcome of the application, if successful, would be to change the remuneration and access to leave in such a way as to remove any inequity as might currently exist in the employment of PTC teachers. If it removes a financial incentive for the respondents to prefer to employ PTC teachers to permanent teachers, the TAFE Commission remains free to continue to apply the principles which provide it with the flexibility in workplace planning that it requires.
101 We note too that the Award is not inflexible in terms of the work that can be undertaken by PTC teachers. Mr Woodcock referred to work performed by PTC teachers as "additional work outside the guidelines of the award", but the Award allows for payment at the DOTT rate without specifying any limitation to the range of duties that might be performed. While the Award does not require PTC teachers to perform duties beyond those listed at clause 59.7, the lack of payment for duties other than teaching is, in our view, a budgetary consideration rather than a matter requiring Award review.