Premier pleads with teachers to abandon industrial actions
A last-minute call for teachers not to leave their classrooms looks set to fall on deaf ears; Tens of thousands of public school educators plan to strike tomorrow.
The Australian Education Union (AEU) remains committed to its members’ 24-hour work stoppage – the state’s first public schools strike in 13 years – after rejecting what it called a “totally unacceptable” 18 per cent pay deal.
The state government continued to insist today that schools would be open on Tuesday, despite some principals advising parents to keep their children home that day.
Many public schools have told their communities that supervision will be provided for the children of emergency workers by prior agreement with the schools.
The union said it expected more than 10,000 striking educators to take to the streets of Melbourne and rally outside Parliament House on Spring Street.
But Prime Minister Jacinta Allan said on Monday morning there was no need for the strike to continue.
While all teachers, principals and vice-principals at some schools plan to join the strike, the government is relying on a strikebreaking workforce of temporary relief teachers and retired teachers to fulfill its promise to keep schools open.
“We have a strong offer on the table,” the Prime Minister said.
“The only way to agree on this proposal is to stay at the negotiating table and that’s why the AEU leadership really needs to rethink this action tomorrow because it’s really causing inconvenience to families at a time when families have enough on their plates.”
AEU Victoria branch president Justin Mullaly said teachers were “disrespected” by the Allan government, which made its offer a week ago – nine months after talks began on a new pay and conditions deal.
“Victorian teachers, principals and support staff would prefer to be teaching Victorian students in the classroom today, but due to the disrespect of the Allan government they are being forced to stop working 24 hours a day,” Mullaly said.
“If the Allan Labor government truly values the work of Victoria’s teachers, principals and education support staff, they need to come forward with a proposal that addresses their real concerns.”
Parents Victoria, the peak group for school parents, said it supported “the principle behind the strike” and that the relatively low wages paid to Victorian state school teachers pose a serious threat to the quality of education in state schools.
Gail McHardy, the group’s chief executive, said parents were “generally sympathetic” to the strike but would still be under pressure to balance work and care on the day.
“[Families] McHardy can see that teachers are under pressure, but says that support is often diminished by worry about their children being disrupted.
“Even among parents who support the action, there is still a real challenge in managing the day. Most families will rely on a variety of options – taking time off, arranging work arrangements or relying on extended family and friends – but it is not easy to organize this on short notice.”
More to come
Nicole Precel is an education reporter for The Age. He was previously an audio video producer. He is also a documentary producer. Contact Nicole.precel@theage.com.auConnect with: X, Facebook or email.
Chip Le Grand leads our state politics reporting team. He had previously served as the newspaper’s chief correspondent and was a journalist with 30 years of experience.Connect via email.
