Australian Education Union warns of further industrial action as pay and funding dispute continues
Victoria’s powerful education union has kept alive the possibility of further strike action as its leaders send the message that the fight with the government is not just about wages but also about improving funding for state school students.
Thursday’s strike, the second this year, left nearly 20,000 teachers, principals and education support staff clogging up Melbourne’s CBD in a red river flowing into Parliament House.
Most of the state’s 1,570 public schools were operating, but the majority did not have the staff to teach some of the students who attended.
Speaking to the crowd from the steps of Parliament, Australian Education Union Victoria President Justin Mullaly warned of further industrial action if the government did not compromise on funding for public schools and education staff.
“We will increase our campaign if necessary,” he said to thousands of applauding educators.
“We will stop work again if necessary to keep the pressure on this government to deliver the outcome we need to see, the outcome Victoria needs to see.”
Union members have rejected multiple offers from the state government, which hopes to resolve the dispute in May after reaching an agreement in principle that would see teachers’ salaries rise by 28 to 32 per cent over four years.
This offer, like last week’s offer of 28.3 per cent over four years, was rejected along with improving conditions for education support staff. But the protracted campaign also put internal pressure on the union.
No date had been set for the resumption of negotiations, and it remained unclear what the government might change to get an offer.
Mullaly kept his cards close to his chest and acknowledged that there were different expectations from members.
The union leadership is struggling to keep its Left wing in line so it can present a united front during negotiations.
The group stepped up its break with the leadership on Thursday by introducing a motion to strike again within two weeks and every pay period thereafter until their demands are met.
The Anti-Crisis group has pushed for reduced class sizes, reduced teaching time, a 35 percent equal pay increase for teachers and support staff over three years, and better conditions for education support staff.
The group of grassroots unionists have vowed to take the motion forward to their sub-branches, regions, councils and union networks.
The second motion he promised to put forward called for its members to be included in the bargaining team with the government.
Union officials, who initially demanded a 35 percent increase over three years when enterprise bargaining began, did not specify a new figure.
But while the government has taken action on pay and some conditions (including halving meeting hours), the union and members want more.
Unresolved issues include improved pay recognition for employees at the top of the pay range; reduced class sizes; salary increase if inflation exceeds annual salary increases; increased planning and preparation time; and greater work flexibility, including working from home where possible.
Livingstone Primary School teacher Maddi Vantarakis said the mood among members and supporters was “cautiously hopeful”.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve done this. This time we won’t just give up,” he said, adding that education staff would not hesitate to strike again.
“Fund schools so we can do our job and I won’t have to go to Kmart every day to buy things to help my kids learn.
“We’re fighting for children… while hurting our own back pockets,” he said.
A persistent sticking point has been the government’s insistence on a four-year deal rather than the three-year deal preferred by the union.
“It’s also clear that they want support and relief from work overload. They want investment that will see more staff in our schools, which means more support for students,” Mullaly said.
Victorian Deputy Premier and Education Minister Ben Carroll kept a low profile on Thursday and reiterated that the revised 28.3 per cent offer over four years would make educators in Victoria the best paid in the country.
He said his door is always open to union leaders.
“Good pay and conditions are the best way to recognize the work of our teachers and educational support staff,” he said.
An agreed pay deal will allow the government to sign the long-awaited Better and Fairer Schools Deal with the Commonwealth, which will bring the state’s schools up to the minimum funding standard.
The agreement extends to November 2023, when the Victorian and Commonwealth governments signed an agreement committing Victoria to deliver 75 per cent of the School Resource Standard by 2028. This is the amount of state government funding a school needs to meet the needs of its students under the Gonski reform model.
Victoria quietly abandoned that commitment four months later and does not plan to reach the benchmark until 2031.
While Victoria and the Commonwealth are still negotiating the terms of the deal, all other states and territories have signed a long-term funding agreement.
The Victorian government claims an impasse over signing the agreement in principle on wages has delayed signing because the majority of funding goes to wages, which the union disputes.
A government spokesman said Victoria had led the way in advocating to remove Commonwealth funding for state schools, and echoed the Allan government’s oft-stated position that the priority was for “every child, wherever they live, to have access to a first-class state school”.
The government says negotiations with the Commonwealth are ongoing so it is not appropriate to comment further.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare, who was on hand to approve the Better and Fairer Schools Deal, said teachers deserved to be paid as well as possible.
“In addition to making sure our teachers are paid what they deserve, we want to take some of the unnecessary admin load off of them so they can spend more time teaching,” he said.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said that the negotiations remaining unresolved reflected negatively on the government.
He said he would not be given an opinion on what the Liberal government would offer teachers if the party wins the November election and the teacher dispute remains unresolved.
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