Teachers from three Qld schools to stop work next week over staff vacancies

Nearly 200 teachers from three Queensland schools are set to stop work next week to address staff vacancies that have led to oversized classes and teacher double-ups.

Nearly 200 teachers from three Queensland schools are set to stop work next week as a “last resort” to address ongoing staff vacancies that’s led to oversized classes and teachers doubling up, the union has revealed.

The Queensland Teachers’ Union says 180 of its members at three regional secondary schools are planning industrial action next week in bid to have ongoing issues addressed by the Department of Education.

The schools that are set to be impacted include North Rockhampton, Sarina and Biloela State High Schools, which started school last week with up to 11 teacher vacancies.

The union is calling on the department to come up with immediate and long-term solutions to the shortages.

Teachers at North Rockhampton State High School will stop work for an hour to protest staff vacancies.

It follows years of vacancies which the union said had continued to take a toll on teachers and school leaders were struggling to provide students with the education expected by the department.

President Cresta Richardson said industrial action was a “last resort” but said members had “no choice” but to stop work for the hour.

“Ongoing teacher vacancies have seen oversized classes, classes doubling up to cover emergent leave, teachers taking a range of subjects outside their areas of expertise, beginning teachers receiving less support from experienced staff, even some classes being temporarily covered by supervision only,” Ms Richardson said in a statement.

“School leaders are taking on teaching loads outside of their expected duties, which in turn means they are working extended hours on weekends and leave periods to catch up on their administrative responsibilities, including recruiting staff, juggling operational arrangements to cover teacher absences and shortages, and focusing on student learning and behaviour.”

Queensland Teachers’ Union president Cresta Richardson.

Ms Richardson said teachers and school leaders were also sacrificing professional development, non-contact time, career opportunities and collegial engagement due to their excessive workloads.

“The union has long said that teaching conditions equal working conditions; if the department is genuine in pursuing equity and excellence in all Queensland state schools, it must assist school leaders to provide the best support for students and the best professional working conditions for teachers,” Ms Richardson said.

The three schools have started the 2024 school year with up to 11 teaching vacancies, across a range of subject areas including science, maths, English, and industrial design and technology.

Ms Richardson said the teacher shortages had impacted all three schools across several years.

Ms Richardson said the QTU and its members wanted the department, both centrally and in the regions, to find both immediate and long-term, sustainable solutions.

The industrial action is set to unfold on Monday, February 5 from 2-3pm at North Rockhampton SHS, and at the same time on February 6 at Biloela SHS and on February 7 at Sarina SHS.

A department spokeswoman last week said the current teacher vacancy rate was “less than 2 per cent” of its current workforce of more than 55,000 teachers.

“Vacancies can occur for a wide variety of reasons, including teachers taking planned leave, accepting promotions, seeking a transfer or retiring,” the spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman said the vacancies were normal and consistent with previous years while Queensland’s teacher retention rates were at about 95 per cent.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles said he had been briefed on the planned industrial action.

“I understand the department is working as hard as they can along with the union to make sure that doesn’t occur,” he said

“Of course teachers, like any other workers, have the right to protest over their conditions but I would hope that they would also consider the impact that action might have on those students.

“Their education, though, will have a contingency plan using relief teachers.”

The union’s Central Queensland organiser Dan Coxen said this was the fourth year running that the schools had entered the year plagued by mass shortages.

Mr Coxen said regional schools like North Rockhampton, Sarina and Biloela were faced with unique requirement challenges due to the department’s transfer rating system.

New teachers who opt to do the traditional “country service” get between four to seven points, opposed to just two in regional centres like Rockhampton.

Mr Coxen said it meant there was less incentive for a young teacher to choose a regional school as country schools could provide a faster route home to a SEQ school.

“What we have is large regional centres on the coast are the hardest to fill ... because schools like Sarina and North Rocky are not metro and not country,” Mr Coxen said.

“They need to find more of an incentive so people can come here, do their time and return to the SE corner.

“We have long term teachers saying to us that this is the ‘definition of insanity’. Something has to give.”

Mr Coxen said regional children were not being granted the same educational opportunities to those in metropolitan areas due to the shortages.

A response from the department has been sought regarding the industrial action at the three schools.