Stop-work action planned for three Central Qld schools suspend

Commitments have been made to fully staff three Central Queensland high schools after nearly 200 teachers planned to stop work to address ongoing staff vacancies. DETAILS.

Commitments have been made to fully staff three Central Queensland high schools after nearly 200 teachers planned to stop work to address ongoing staff vacancies.

Queensland Teachers’ Union members at Biloela, North Rockhampton and Sarina State High Schools have voted to suspend stop-work action, stating the Queensland Department of Education had committed to negotiate real attraction and retention outcomes while fully staffing the three schools.

The proposed one-hour action was announced earlier in the week and was triggered by ongoing teacher shortages in the schools, which started last week with up to 11 teacher vacancies.

The industrial action was set to unfold on Monday, February 5 from 2pm to 3pm at North Rockhampton State High School and Biloela State High School and on February 7 at Sarina SHS.

Sarina State High School is growing in size and population.

Queensland Teachers’ Union have agreed to suspend stop-work action for three months while they and their union work with the Education Department to find tangible and sustainable solutions to chronic understaffing.

The union’s Central Queensland organiser, Dan Coxen, said he believed the schools were very close to being fully staffed and that it was a “a significant improvement on their current situation”.

“That’s a really significant win because those schools went into the start of this year having significant shortages and for the fourth year in a row,” he said.

“I believe in the next days or so they will be fully staffed.”

Mr Coxen said the department had also agreed to a forum to discuss attraction and retention incentives for employees to come and work at these schools on a more permanent basis.

He said the forum would be held in the next fortnight in Brisbane.

Dan Coxen will stand for pre-selection for the Labor Party for the seat of Rockhampton.

President Cresta Richardson said solutions needed to address a range of issues, including housing, teacher mobility, and attraction and retention incentives.

“To address the significant impacts on education delivery, working conditions and psychosocial health being experienced by our members in these schools, Department of Education also must continue to fully staff each school,” she said.

Ms Richardson said the Queensland Teachers’ Union and its members thanked the local school communities for their support.

Queensland Teachers’ Union president Cresta Richardson.

“Parents and caregivers have shown they understand that teaching conditions equal students’ learning conditions, and that their school leaders and teachers deserve more support from Department of Education and the Queensland Government,” she said.