State school teachers vote to strike over pay, workload

More than 30,000 state school teachers have voted to walk out of the classroom as negotiations with the Palaszczuk Government on a new agreement break down.

TEACHERS across Queensland have voted to walk out of the classroom in a 24-hour strike as negotiations with the Palaszczuk Government over a new pay deal hit a stalemate.

The 24-hour stoppage has been set down for Thursday, July 18 — just days into Term 3 — should the Government and the Queensland Teachers Union not reach an agreement beforehand.

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More than 30,000 teachers across the state voted in the Queensland Teachers’ Union ballot with 94 per cent backing the move.

“This is an overwhelmingly positive result in support of the union’s campaign and represents the highest ballot return in our union’s history,” a members’ bulletin issued by general secretary Graham Moloney stated.

The union’s enterprise bargaining agreement is due to expire at the end of the month.

The QTU says the only way the strike action can be averted is if the Government agrees to terms including changes to ease workload pressures and better pay. The QTU is understood to be pushing for a pay increase of 4.5 per cent, up from the Government’s wages policy of 2.5 per cent.

Should the 24-hour stoppage go ahead, it will be the first such strike in a decade with state school teachers last walking en masse over pay in 2009.

“To date, while a number of proposals have been mooted, there has been no offer from the Queensland Government,” the QTU email states.

The union has urged all its members to take part in the strike.

“We must provide a united front to the Queensland Government,” the email stated.

“The strike is a last resort action designed to highlight the failure of the government to make an offer that addresses the key priorities and demonstrates the value of teachers and school leaders.”

The QTU will also hold a rally next Wednesday with teachers to march on the Government’s Tower of Power.

Originally published as State school teachers vote to strike over pay, workload