Teachers’ union rejects pay offer, rally planned outside parliament

Queensland teachers’ union has rejected a new pay offer from the government, slamming it as “an affront” that “lifts the lid on the government’s true disdain for education professionals and union members”.

A department email, sent to public school teachers across the state and seen by this masthead, had put forward a wage increase of 8 per cent across three years.

Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek and Premier David Crisafulli.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

But an email from the Queensland Teachers’ Union arrived in some teachers’ inboxes before the offer itself.

“The QTU has been negotiating in good faith, however, it is plain from the offer that the government remains wedded to its government wages policy rather than providing nation-leading salaries and conditions to teachers and school leaders,” it says.

A meeting of the union executive on Thursday night resolved to reject the offer, saying it “merely reiterates the government’s wage policy”.

Along with the 8 per cent wage rise, a “consumer price index uplift adjustment payment” could see wages increase by another 0.5 per cent in the first year, and 1 per cent in the second and third years, depending on inflation.

According to the QTU, the offer would “see teachers … fall to the third-lowest paid in the country”.

The email from Department of Education director-general Sharon Schimming had requested a decision on the offer by July 14. The existing agreement expires on June 30.

“I am committed to easing pressures on the teaching profession, and creating a safe and supportive environment so you can focus on curriculum, teaching, and learning,” Schimming wrote.

The Queensland government will hand down its state budget on Tuesday.

Teachers were set to rally outside Queensland parliament at 5pm that day, after the budget was handed down.

Meanwhile, the nurses’ union is also agitating for an increase to what they have described as a “subpar” offer from the state government, and have warned they will strike for the first time in decades if their demands are not met.

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