Adelaide teacher strike to affect more than 60,000 students as schools close

Today’s teacher strike will close or affect more than 300 schools and hit at least 62,000 students, forcing many stressed parents to drop work. Tram drivers are also striking today.

About 62,500 students are believed to be affected by Friday’s teacher strike across almost 170 schools, which will close for the day.

It comes as tram drivers also go on strike during morning peak-hour.

Among those affected by the teachers’ strike is student Lily Romanowicz, 6, who is in year 1 at Rose Park Primary School.

Her mother Rebecca Gigney was notified about the school closure on Wednesday afternoon and said she had to scramble to make alternative arrangements for her daughter.

“It’s just (stressful) finding last-minute care because I work on Fridays,” Ms Gigney, 42, who is a physiotherapist, said.

The school offered out of school hours care, said Ms Gigney, who is from Rose Park, but “it would be at cost”.

“It puts you out a bit,” she said.

But despite the inconvenience, Ms Gigney said she believes “the teachers do deserve to be paid more money”.

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Year 1 student, Lily Romanowicz, 6, with her mother Rebecca Gigney, and brother Hugo, 3, outside Rose Park Primary School, ahead of the teacher strike. Picture: Matt Loxton

The Education Department revealed on Wednesday 167 public schools or preschools would close and 152 would offer a modified program.

The remaining 608 sites would be open as normal or already had a planned pupil-free day.

Analysis of enrolment data by The Advertiser shows about 62,500 students attend the schools set to close.

Some schools are offering out of school hours care programs but opposition education spokesman John Gardner said there had been confusion about whether there would be enough places and if parents would be left out of pocket.

Education Minister Blair Boyer said he believed there would be enough capacity for out of school hours care.

Thuy Dinhpham with her son Blake Lim, 8, and daughter, Mika Lim, 6, outside Rose Park Primary School. Picture: Matt Loxton

He said SA OSHC services charged an average hourly fee of $6.70 – the lowest in the nation – and once the federal childcare subsidy of up to 90 per cent was applied most families would receive a bill in future of as little as $5 per child.

“It will be a very small amount that families have to pay and they don’t pay upfront,” he said.

While he acknowledged it was a disruption, Mr Boyer said there were fewer schools affected by industrial action on Friday than when AEU members went on strike during the last round of negotiations with government in 2019.

The closure of Rose Park Primary School will also force mother Amelia Noble to take unpaid leave as she will have to stay home from work to take care of children Spencer, 7, and Tully, 5.

Ms Noble, a sales representative, said she must cover the missed hours of work at another time.

“I won’t be working from home and I’ll have to make up that time on the weekend,” Ms Noble, 38, from Norwood, said.

The Australian Education Union is seeking wage increases of between 5.5 and 8.6 per cent a year – or almost 20 per cent over three years – and $1bn in extra classroom support to manage increasing workloads and complex behaviours in students.

AEU SA branch president Andrew Gohl announced the full-day strike last Friday but has not said exactly how many members voted for the move, or how many educators are planning to forgo a day’s pay to participate.

Mr Gohl has said 87 per cent of union sub branches took part in the week-long ballot on whether to strike, and of them 80 per cent supported the action.

The AEU has about 12,100 members in SA, although not all work in schools or preschools.

The union will hold a rally on the steps of Parliament House on Friday at 11am.