Long-awaited paid public holidays for school's ancillary staff

School Services Officers (SSOs), Aboriginal Education Workers (AEWs) and Early Childhood Workers (ECWs), who only work during the school terms, will no longer not need to use accrued TOIL to be paid for public holidays under one of the new provisions of the recently approved South Australian School and Preschool Education Staff Enterprise Agreement.

The provision came into effect for the Adelaide Cup public holiday on Monday, 11 March 2024 and included the Easter public holidays on Friday, 29 March and Monday, 1 April 2024.

Throughout negotiations for the agreement the PSA pursued issues members had told us were important to them, and finally achieving some equity in relation to public holidays was an important win,

said PSA General Secretary Natasha Brown.

The agreement sees members receive pay rises of 4 per cent back paid to May 2023, and 3 per cent annual rises over the three-year life of the agreement.

The PSA also secured an undertaking from the Department for Education to conduct an audit of working arrangements for ancillary staff.

This audit will identify possibilities for conversion of positions to permanency,

Natasha Brown said.