Pia Akerman
THE federal industrial umpire yesterday ordered teachers in Victoria to abandon the union-ordered boycott of next week's national literacy and numeracy tests.
The order by Fair Work Australia came as the Fair Work Ombudsman put the Australian Education Union on notice that if it did not comply with tribunal orders issued in seven states and territories it would face civil penalties.
The FWA direction yesterday to abandon the boycott follows similar orders for teachers to defy the AEU and administer the tests in NSW, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory.
The South Australian Industrial Relations Commission is today expected to announce its orders on the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy tests to be held from next Tuesday to Thursday.
With the AEU showing no signs of abandoning its boycott of the tests to be taken by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, Julia Gillard accused the union of standing in the way of educational progress.
"I'm absolutely driven by the belief that transparency matters and makes a difference," the federal Education Minister told a business lunch in Adelaide.
"You don't fix uncomfortable truths by refusing to reveal them.
"When we test our children against children around the world, what we find time after time is that we're starting to slip a bit in the rankings of the world.
"It just amazes me that people would stand in the way of that journey".
Ms Gillard said she shared the frustration of one attendee, Business SA chief Peter Vaughan, who described the AEU's stance as "troglodyte".
The head of the AEU's South Australian branch, Correna Haythorpe, hit back.
"It's not about being troglodytes," Ms Haythorpe said. "We're happy to have transparency and we're happy to have accountability.
"We're very happy for parents to have information, but we want to make sure it's rich information and that it's available in a clear, understandable format".
The Fair Work Ombudsman will today seek orders in the Federal Court forcing the AEU to take out newspaper advertisements calling off the boycott in Victoria, the Northern Territory and the ACT, where teachers are covered by federal awards.
The union opposes the NAPLAN data being posted on the My School website because it can be used to compile league tables ranking schools.
Ms Gillard said if the union proceeded with the boycott, its influence was expected to affect only a limited number of schools.
The Australian
