Second teacher strike has been called off

Plans for teachers to walk off the job later this week have been cancelled after the education minister flagged ‘positive’ discussions.

Friday’s planned teacher strike has been called off by the Australian Education Union after the state government came to the table with a revised offer of more than $1.3bn.

Education Minister Blair Boyer confirmed the threat of industrial action on Friday from the AEU had been removed, “given a new offer from the government”.

“I met with the AEU twice last week, including a meeting with the Premier, and the discussions were very positive,” he said.

“The state government has today provided the AEU with a revised offer of more than $1.3bn. This offer does reward our incredible school and preschool staff with the improved conditions they deserve.

“We welcome the AEU’s decision to not proceed with industrial action as we continue to work together on a final agreement as soon as possible.”

Negotiations between the two parties are expected to continue this week, with the union asking for wage increases of between 5.5 and 8.6 per cent – or almost 20 per cent over three years.

It’s understood the government’s revised offer to the union, which included mentoring services for young teachers and admin assistance for funding applications, was enough for the union to call off the strike.

Minister for Education Blair Boyer. NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Mr Boyer confirmed to The Advertiser on Saturday that the government planned to introduce a clause “about a right to disconnect” as part of its negotiations with the union.

“We recognise the rise of technology has placed pressure on staff to reply to queries from families outside of school hours, in addition to their daily duties,” he said.

It would also apply to communications from colleagues and school leaders, although it is unclear at this stage exactly how it would be enforced.

“The clause is one of a range of initiatives the state government is putting forward in the agreement to reduce the workload of staff,” Mr Boyer said.

The teachers strike at Parliament House. Picture: Brenton Edwards

AEU president Andrew Gohl. Picture: Dean Martin

He said the “nub of the negotiations” had continued to be the union’s demand for a 20 per cent reduction in face-to-face teaching time.

“We are negotiating with the union on what is a reduction that is both sustainable and can be accommodated in the state budget,” Mr Boyer said.

However, Mr Boyer said he would “like to see our teachers get off the bottom of the league table” in terms of pay.

AEU president Andrew Gohl was contacted for comment.