Teachers strike likely as tensions between Australian Education Union and Government escalate

Industrial Relations Minister Rob Lucas has stared down the teachers’ union over a strike threat, saying the public school system it has “effectively controlled” has delivered “appalling” academic results.

• Teacher and union delegate lashes Liberals on AEU Facebook page

Industrial Relations Minister Rob Lucas is staring down the teachers’ union over a strike threat, saying the public school system it has “effectively controlled” has delivered “appalling” academic results and needs change.

The Australian Education Union, which is balloting members over a likely strike on Thursday, November 29, says it has been “betrayed” by the State Government’s attempt to remove a series of specific funding measures from the next industrial agreement.

The measures, contained in a document called “The Commitment” attached to the current agreement, include preschool staffing levels, extra resources for special schools, a grant for students with learning disabilities and funding for behavioural units.

AEU state president Howard Spreadbury said the Government claimed it would not make cuts in those areas, but could not be trusted.

AEU SA president Howard Spreadbury

Industrial Relations Minister Rob Lucas

“Our members know that we can’t always trust governments of the future to deliver the funding, when they have the capacity to redirect that funding away from students and learning outcomes to other avenues,” he said.

Mr Lucas said the Government needed more flexibility in how to spend record education funding in order to lift academic results. “What we’re saying to the teachers’ union is there’s a big commitment from taxpayers to put extra money in. Let’s talk sensibly about how we can best spend the money to improve learning outcomes,” Mr Lucas said.

“What the union’s said to you is working wonderfully at the moment has delivered appalling literacy and numeracy outcomes.

“We are actually wanting to speak up on behalf of students and parents and grandparents.

“The way we currently run the system hasn’t worked as well as it should.

“We’re saying look at the results. You (the union) show us where … the system you’ve effectively controlled with Labor governments for 20 years has produced Rolls Royce education results. They can’t demonstrate that because the evidence isn’t there.”

SA has long been the worst performing mainland state in NAPLAN testing, which the former Labor government said was largely due to socio-economic factors.

Mr Spreadbury said the union also wanted smaller classes, more support staff, better incentives to keep teachers in the regions and a higher rate of permanency. He said the fact it had been a decade since the last strike showed how serious members were. But Mr Lucas said the union was “sadly misguided” if it thought striking would have any effect.