TAFE teachers ramp up industrial action, bans on class attendance, extra hours and strike threat

Victorian TAFE teachers will no longer record student attendance or work extra hours as they ramp up industrial action, including — in certain circumstances — walking out of classrooms.

Victorian TAFE teachers will no longer record student attendance or work extra hours as they push ahead with a campaign of industrial action, which may result in them walking off the job.

The Australian Education Union on Monday said the action — which includes teachers walking out of classrooms if a state Labor MP turns up at a TAFE campus — came after the Allan government failed to strike a new deal over pay and working conditions.

Teachers will no longer perform excess teaching duty hours — meant to be used to assist employers cover emergency situations — and there will also be bans on work related to auditing and professional development, recording student engagement or attendance, participation in promotional events and responding to some management inquiries.

The industrial action will take place at Victoria’s 12 standalone TAFEs, those that are not operated in a dual setting, such as with a university.

Jacinta Allan is facing a campaign of strike action from TAFE teachers. Picture: Daniel Pockett

AEU Victorian Branch Deputy President Justin Mullaly said TAFE teachers would be forced to take “more significant steps” if the state government didn’t put an agreement on the table that values educators.

“After almost two years of negotiations, TAFE teachers want to know why the Allan Labor government doesn’t value their work and has turned their back on them,” he said.

“The Allan Labor government has a responsibility to the entire Victorian community to ensure that every TAFE teacher is well supported and respected so they can deliver high quality education and training to students. At this stage the government has failed in that responsibility.

“TAFE teachers are burning out. Too many are leaving TAFE to return to industry where they may receive greater pay without the stress and excessive workloads they currently experience.

“These issues must be addressed through appropriate pay and conditions for TAFE teachers.”

Victoria’s ‘crook’ TAFE system

Exhausted teachers have lifted the lid on the state’s “crook” TAFE system, as they scramble to cope with staff shortages, excessive workloads and hours of unpaid overtime.

Victoria remains the lowest-funded state for vocational education nationally and teachers are being short-changed by almost 20 per cent, according to the Productivity Commission report on Government Services data.

TAFE teachers told the Sunday Herald Sun they’re feeling the repercussions now more than ever, with overcrowded classrooms, insufficient resources and poor pay driving staff away from the sector.

TAFE teachers say they’re working unpaid overtime and are teaching classes that have doubled in size due to staff shortages.

A building teacher who has worked at TAFEs for the past two decades said students didn’t have enough resources to complete assignments due to insufficient funding and are reusing equipment until they “can’t do the job properly”.

He also said class sizes had doubled in some areas to make up for teacher shortfalls, while some TAFEs had shortened training time, delayed or cancelled classes as there’s minimal staff available.

“When I first started, we were teaching 16-week courses, five days a week, eight hours a day but now some courses are only seven hours a day four days a week, so it’s dropped off quite a lot,” he said.

“But what students have to learn and the skills they’re required to develop have increased, so the workload for teachers gets tonnes harder.”

The teacher was also frustrated by the lack of pay parity between TAFE and VET educators at high schools, with the latter position offering a higher wage despite the roles sharing similar responsibilities.

Meanwhile, another educator said the current system was “abusing teachers’ commitment to students and pushing them to a point of destruction”.

“I know one teacher whose blood pressure was up and the doctor told him to change his lifestyle. What did he do? He retired. Now there’s one less teacher in the system,” he said.

In addition to underfunding, the teacher said staff shortages could be traced to “low morale and a problematic culture that’s existed within Victorian TAFEs for years”.

He said these issues must be addressed before the government worked to attract new staff.

“Three separate people have spoken to the CEO (at my TAFE) and told them things were crook, but still nothing changes,” he said.

“There’s a lack of accountability right through the management structure … at no point does a CEO ever walk around the classrooms and see how things are running.”

Teachers are calling on the government for more funding, pay parity and fairer working conditions.

The Australian Education Union (AEU) said it had bargained with the state government for almost two years to address these issues to no avail.

Consequently, TAFE teachers have voted to take industrial action if an agreement isn’t met, AEU Victoria branch president Meredith Peace revealed this week.

“From July 1, Victoria’s TAFE teachers will be paid $7742 a year or 7 per cent less than similarly experienced school teachers,” she said.

“In addition to a pay offer that doesn’t value them, TAFE teachers …(are left with) precious little time for (them) to do what they love, which is to support students.”

A spokeswoman for the Victorian TAFE Association said the peak body for government-owned TAFEs is calling for simplified compliance requirements so educators can focus on quality teaching.

“TAFEs, who work adjacent to the building industry, experience similar demand and purchasing problems from time to time,” she said.

“The state and federal governments continue to put TAFE at the centre, including through the National Skills Agreement which provides more funding.

“With the demand for TAFE graduates only set to grow, an increase to Victoria’s funding envelope is needed.”

Opposition skills and training spokeswoman Bridget Vallence said Victoria’s “shocking” TAFE system was impacting student outcomes.

“Without paying TAFE teachers fairly or fixing teacher shortages, the Labor government has no chance of tackling the deepening skills crisis faced by many industries, resourcing our healthcare system properly, or delivering its promise to build 80,000 new homes per year,” she said.

“After years of neglect, it’s time for the Allan government to start valuing TAFE teachers more given the vital role they perform in educating young Victorians in skilled trades and contributing to the Victorian economy.”

A Victorian government spokesman said the Labor government understands the critical role TAFE teachers play and has invested more than $4 billion in TAFE since 2014.

“We continue to invest in and work with TAFEs across the state to maintain a high quality and diverse TAFE workforce,” he said.

Originally published as TAFE teachers ramp up industrial action, bans on class attendance, extra hours and strike threat