Qld teachers strike over pay: How do their salaries compare to other professions?

Queensland teachers have voted overwhelmingly to strike over pay, but how do their salaries compare to nurses, police and retail workers? SEE THE WAGES

Are Queensland teachers paid enough compared to construction workers?

Queensland’s teachers want better salaries – but how do they stack up pay-wise compared to other professions?

The looming strike by educators on August 6 has already sparked a war of words, with many claiming the state’s teachers already have good working conditions.

Queensland Teachers Union President Cresta Richardson said members had “overwhelmingly” voted in favour of a 24-hour work stoppage across all state schools.

In an email sent out to teachers, the QTU revealed a whopping 36,583 out of 38,243 total votes were in favour of the strike.

The union in June rejected the government’s offer of salary increases of 3 per cent, 2.5 per cent, and 2.5 per cent over the next three years.

Glassdoor, a website where current and former employees can anonymously review companies and post salary information, lists teachers in Queensland currently receiving an average salary of $90,000 per year.

This figure is supported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics which had those in the “education and training” profession as earning about $75,000 each year.

In comparison, nurses on Glassdoor are listed to have annual salaries of about $68,000.

Traffic controllers are listed as earning $29 per hour, which would equate to about $60,000 per year on a 40-hour work week.

A supermarket assistant at Coles or Woolworths would earn about $50,000 a year (on a 40-hour work week), while a hairdresser in Queensland would earn slightly more per annum.

A police officer in the state is estimated to earn $100,000 each year, and a correctional officer about $75,000.

Accountants earn about the same, while IT developers make about $100,000 each year and construction workers about $65,000 if they worked 40 hours.

The issue of pay packets has also been highlighted by popular Instagram account Getahead, which posts stories of everyday Australians discussing their earnings.

See the salaries below and watch the Getahead videos >>>

Queensland nurses are estimated to earn about $68,000 per year.

Annual salaries in Qld

■ Teachers $90,000

■ Nurses $68,000

■ Traffic controllers $60,000

■ Supermarket assistant $50,000

■ Police officer $100,000

■ Correctional officer $75,000

■ Accountants $75,000

■ IT developers $100,000

■ Construction workers $65,000

■ Real estate agent $58,000

■ Electrician $92,000

*based on 40-hour work weeks

**data from Glassdoor

Originally published as Qld teachers strike over pay: How do their salaries compare to other professions?