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AU Financial Review
01-07-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Victorian teachers demand 35pc pay rise
Victorian public school teachers have demanded pay rises of 35 per cent over three years, smaller classroom sizes, flexible working arrangements and reduced workloads as part of their new enterprise agreement. The Australian Education Union said Victorian teachers were the lowest paid in the country, and made a series of demands in its log of claims for a new enterprise agreement with the cash-strapped Allan government.
Sydney Morning Herald
30-06-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
State school teachers demand 35 per cent pay rise, smaller classes, reduced workload
The state's 52,000 government school teachers have demanded pay rises totalling 35 per cent over three years, reduced workloads, smaller classes and more mental health support. In its log of claims for a new enterprise agreement covering 1570 schools across the state, the Australian Education Union wants a 15 per cent pay boost in the first year of a new deal followed by 10 per cent in each of the second and third years. The increases would be based on the initial salary figure, and not compounded each year. In addition to the large wage rise, the teachers want smaller class sizes, more allied health and classroom support for students, more flexible working options, workload reductions and lower administrative burdens. Rank-and-file teachers and principals are in a mutinous mood after years of underfunding to government schools, a workforce crisis and a pay deal three years ago that delivered annual pay rises of 2 per cent, just as the cost-of-living crisis began to bite. They remain the nation's lowest-paid state education workforce with Victorian graduate teachers earning $13,000 less than the best-paid graduates in the Northern Territory and $8700 less than those in NSW. A group of unionists running on a 'strike now' ticket pulled in 37 per cent of the vote in internal elections late last year, and the union's state branch president Justin Mullaly told The Age in April that strike action was not off the table as part of teachers' campaign for better pay. Several hundred unionised teachers rallied at the electorate office of Education Minister Ben Carroll in Melbourne's north-west last month to voice their determination to fight for more money and better conditions. But the state's capacity to pay may be in doubt, with Treasury grappling with debts set to hit $167 billion this year and the government looking to cut 1200 jobs in a bid to save $3 billion. The government also secretly stripped $2.4 billion from future school spending by delaying by some years, money due to be spent under the long-promised Gonski reforms.
The Age
30-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
State school teachers demand 35 per cent pay rise, smaller classes, reduced workload
The state's 52,000 government school teachers have demanded pay rises totalling 35 per cent over three years, reduced workloads, smaller classes and more mental health support. In its log of claims for a new enterprise agreement covering 1570 schools across the state, the Australian Education Union wants a 15 per cent pay boost in the first year of a new deal followed by 10 per cent in each of the second and third years. The increases would be based on the initial salary figure, and not compounded each year. In addition to the large wage rise, the teachers want smaller class sizes, more allied health and classroom support for students, more flexible working options, workload reductions and lower administrative burdens. Rank-and-file teachers and principals are in a mutinous mood after years of underfunding to government schools, a workforce crisis and a pay deal three years ago that delivered annual pay rises of 2 per cent, just as the cost-of-living crisis began to bite. They remain the nation's lowest-paid state education workforce with Victorian graduate teachers earning $13,000 less than the best-paid graduates in the Northern Territory and $8700 less than those in NSW. A group of unionists running on a 'strike now' ticket pulled in 37 per cent of the vote in internal elections late last year, and the union's state branch president Justin Mullaly told The Age in April that strike action was not off the table as part of teachers' campaign for better pay. Several hundred unionised teachers rallied at the electorate office of Education Minister Ben Carroll in Melbourne's north-west last month to voice their determination to fight for more money and better conditions. But the state's capacity to pay may be in doubt, with Treasury grappling with debts set to hit $167 billion this year and the government looking to cut 1200 jobs in a bid to save $3 billion. The government also secretly stripped $2.4 billion from future school spending by delaying by some years, money due to be spent under the long-promised Gonski reforms.
ABC News
31-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Victorian teachers plan to escalate their fight for more government funding of state schools
Victorian teachers are considering mass rallies targeting the premier, education minister and treasurer in response to what they say is massive underfunding of public schools. Earlier this month, Nine newspapers claimed the government had ripped $2.4 billion from school budgets by delaying its commitment to the Gonski education reforms by three years. The Age reported the savings were signed off by the premier. Jacinta Allan denied her government had withdrawn from its Gonski funding commitment. The Australian Education Union Victorian branch has written to all state school teachers outlining plans to escalate their campaign for better funding, including asking parents to join in mass emails to Ms Allan and Education Minister Ben Carroll, as well as public rallies. Branch president Justin Mullaly said those rallies would be outside school hours and would target the offices of Ms Allan and Mr Carroll, as well as Treasurer Jaclyn Symes. "The government has been duplicitous," Mr Mullaly said. "On the one hand they say that they are promoting the education state and that they're going to fully fund public schools, yet they're not actually planning at all on delivering the money for that." Mr Mullaly said the rallies would also target other senior MPs, but no dates had been set for the action. "We don't do this lightly; we don't engage in activities like this just at the drop of a hat," he said. "This is in response to a complete failure of the state government to deliver the funding the students in our schools need and to provide the resources that teachers, principals and education staff support need." The government said Victoria signed an agreement with the federal government in January that would secure 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) for Victorian government schools by 2034. "Our priority is — and has always been — that every child, no matter where they live, has access to a world-class education for free in a Victorian government school backed by full and fair funding," Mr Carroll said. He said the state government would provide 75 per cent of the SRS, which would see increased funding in stages during the term of the agreement. "The Victorian government is currently finalising these discussions with the Commonwealth," Mr Carroll said. "I will not be negotiating with the Commonwealth through the media."
The Age
30-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Teachers to protest in the streets against school funding cuts
Teachers furious at a state government plan to underfund public schools for another six years will take to the streets in a mass protest personally targeting Premier Jacinta Allan as a parliamentary inquiry is launched into the growing scandal. The Australian Education Union on Friday wrote to Victorian teachers calling for immediate action against the government's school funding 'con job' which will strip $2.4 billion out of public schools by pushing back its commitment to fully fund the Gonski reforms by three years. The campaign outlined by the union's state leadership will involve paid advertisements, flooding the email inboxes of Allan and Education Minister Ben Carroll with letters from outraged teachers and school parents and public rallies targeting the pair and Treasurer Jaclyn Symes. The Greens this week established a parliamentary inquiry to examine the impact of the funding cuts on students, teachers and the state school system. The inquiry, backed by the Liberal Party and not voted against by Labor MPs, is due to report by 30 April next year, seven months before the next state election. Cabinet-in-confidence documents provided to this masthead uncovered a secret government decision taken in March last year to delay until 2031 additional funding needed by public schools to deliver the Gonski education reforms. In the three weeks since the funding cuts were exposed, Allan and Carroll have refused to publicly acknowledge the decision or canvass the implications for public school students and teachers. Loading The documents show that Carroll argued against the delay, warning it would damage the state's reputation, entrench Victoria as Australia's lowest per-student funding jurisdiction for government schools and aggravate the funding gap between government and non-government schools and disparity in outcomes between advantaged and disadvantaged students. Allan and Carroll, when questioned about the decision in parliament, have pointed to a 34 per cent increase per student in funding for public schools since Labor came to power 11 years ago and $17 billion in capital investments in new and upgraded schools.
