SA Government offers teachers ‘right to disconnect’ in enterprise bargaining negotiations

Teachers would be encouraged to ignore calls and emails from parents and principals outside work hours as part of the latest pay and conditions offer from the government.

Teachers would have the right to ignore calls and emails from their boss or students’ parents outside work hours as part of the latest pay and conditions offer from the state government.

Known as the “right to disconnect”, the policy would protect teachers from repercussions if they turned off their phone and did not respond until they returned to work the next day.

NSW educators have just secured the protection as part of drawn-out enterprise-bargaining negotiations after it was afforded to Queensland teachers last year.

Education Minister Blair Boyer has confirmed to the Sunday Mail the government planned to introduce a clause “about a right to disconnect” as part of its negotiations with the Australian Education 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 government and AEU have been locked in tense negotiations for weeks as teachers escalate their industrial action.

Striking teachers protest at Parliament House in Adelaide. Picture: Brenton Edwards

On September 1, thousands walked off the job, closing 167 public schools across the state.

AEU SA branch president Andrew Gohl has said members may go on strike again this Friday if the union does not receive an improved offer from government by Monday.

“There is a genuine desire on both parties here to come to an agreement as quickly as we can,” Mr Boyer said.

“I’m confident we’re going to come to an agreement, and I hope we do that before any more industrial action takes place.”

The union wants wage increases of between 5.5 and 8.6 per cent – or almost 20 per cent over three years – but the government says that is unrealistic.

On Friday, Premier Peter Malinauskas rejected a union request for a 20 per cent reduction in face-to-face teaching time, to give more time for administration tasks, saying that “would be reckless and irresponsible” to approve.

The legal “right to disconnect” has gained traction in recent years as the pervasiveness of technology and work-from-home arrangements have blurred the lines between home and office.

In 2017, France granted all workers the “right to disconnect”, providing legal protection if they ignored calls, texts or emails out of work hours.

Under the Queensland deal, teachers “are encouraged to disconnect from digital technologies and communications when accessing rest time, weekends, and leave/vacation periods, except in exceptional circumstances”.

“The department is committed to minimising digital communications with employees to ensure an appropriate work/life balance is met, whilst accommodating operational needs,” the agreement says.

Under the NSW in-principle agreement, reached this week, only emergency phone calls and emails would be expected to be answered.

The NSW government has offered pay rises for educators of between four and 20 per cent, estimated to cost $1.4bn over the next four years.