Australian Education Union puts new State Government enterprise bargaining offer to ballot of members
We’ve had teacher strikes, no comments on student report cards and Christmas concerts moved to the daytime. But finally a resolution to a bitter industrial dispute seems near.
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The bitter and long-running industrial dispute between public school teachers and the State Government could be nearing an end, after union leaders agreed to put a new offer to a ballot of members.
However, the Australian Education Union says it still has concerns over elements of the deal and has not made any recommendation to members about which way they should vote.
The dispute has dragged on for 18 months and involved full and half-day strikes, rolling stoppages, and controversial measures such as teachers refusing to write comments on student report cards and moving Christmas concerts to the daytime.
The new offer includes raising a “complexity allowance” to schools from an additional $12 million to an additional $15 million a year.
The money is to help schools cope with workload pressures from rising numbers of students with disabilities and learning difficulties. On average, schools will get about $30,000 a year, and as much as $160,000.
The union says it could be used to raise the hours of classroom support workers, provide release time for teachers, or hire “an extra fraction” of a teacher.
Salary increases remain at the levels the Government previously offered – 2.35 per cent for teachers and 3.35 per cent for principals and preschool directors, backdated to May.
But the further backdating of the offer has improved. It will be 1.35 per cent for teachers from October 2018 to May this year, up from 1 per cent previously on the table.
Other improvements in the offer, covering 2018-19 to 2022-23, include:
Raising the length of time teachers in hard-to-staff country schools are eligible for attraction and retention incentive payments from five years to eight.
Capping face-to-face teaching time for teachers in stand-alone preschools at 24 hours a week. The union says some are currently working 30 hours.
Reducing face-to-face teaching time for principals in small schools by 135 minutes a week.
Extra funds to ease administrative workload on principals of schools with special classes.
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“This is a positive step forward and the Government is hopeful it will lead to a sensible resolution of our enterprise bargaining negotiations, which gives exceptionally fair and reasonable salary increases and also provides greater assistance and support to teachers in the classroom,” Treasurer Rob Lucas said.
“The AEU’s request to suspend further hearings in the SA Employment Tribunal is a further indication of the positive progress the parties have made in negotiations.
“We urge members to support the offer.”
AEU state president-elect Lara Golding told The Advertiser it was “an improved package, but we still have some concerns about the offer”.
Concerns included conditions for part-time workers and the Government’s proposal to phase out the “advanced skills teacher” classification, while funding more “highly accomplished” and “lead” teachers positions.
While all three attract higher pay, Ms Golding said attainment of the latter two qualifications did not come with any guarantee of positions at that level, reducing the incentive for teachers to aspire to them. There were currently “very few” of either highly accomplished or lead teachers, she said.
Ms Golding was not sure which way members would vote.
Results of the ballot may be known by the end of next week.
If supported, a subsequent ballot of all of the state’s 28,000 public teachers, principals and support staff would be conducted in the first week of Term 1 next year.