Qld schools: Parents warned of major disruption in teacher strike
Parents of 560,000 Queensland students urged to keep children home next Wednesday as teachers prepare for their first strike in 16 years.
QLD Education
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD Education. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Families of more than 560,000 state school students have been urged to keep their children at home next Wednesday, as thousands of teachers prepare to walk off the job for the day.
Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek and his department have assured parents all children would be supervised if they showed up to school on August 6.
The last time teachers went on strike in Queensland – in 2009 – just 3 per cent of students turned up to their public school, according to Courier-Mail reporting from the time.
Parents and Citizens’ Association Queensland CEO Scott Wiseman said there could be significant impacts for families and working parents, including having to take a day off to ensure children were supervised at home.
He called on employers to be as flexible as possible with parents of school-aged children on strike day.
The Queensland Teachers’ Union last month rejected the government’s offer of annual pay increases of 3 per cent, 2.5 per cent, and 2.5 per cent over the next three years.
A majority of members on Tuesday then voted in favour for a 24-hour work stoppage.
Queensland Teachers’ Union president Cresta Richardson encouraged parents to make alternative arrangements and keep students home from school during the strike action.
“QTU members are participating in protected industrial action for the first time in 16 years following the government’s failure to recognise the significance of key issues affecting its members and school communities,” she said.
Mr Langbroek, during a visit to Caloundra State School on the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday, said he wanted students at school but it would be up to individual principals to make appropriate arrangements.
“It’s not as though you can just sit down and sort out a deal in five minutes. We’ve made a couple of offers to the teachers union and then of course, they have been rejected,” he said.
Opposition Leader Steven Miles said the strike would have an enormous impact on families right across the state, and called on the government to broker a deal with the teachers so they could stay in the classroom.
Brisbane mother Lexi Crouch, whose daughter Mabel goes to New Farm State School, said many of her friends were teachers and she supported their right to strike knowing how much work they do.
“We work from home so we will figure it out,” she said.
It’s a view shared by Kimberley French, who said she would take her daughter Lily to work on strike day and “back the teachers 100 per cent no matter what”.
Queensland Association of State School Principals president Pat Murphy said the day would likely consist of things like catching up on unfinished class work, study skills including reading and described it as an unstructured day.
More Coverage
Originally published as Qld schools: Parents warned of major disruption in teacher strike
Australia’s Top 100 Schools – the ultimate education power list
This is the first definitive list of the nation’s 100 best private schools – based on data, not opinions and reputation. So which schools offer the best education money can buy?
The elite Queensland private schools ranked in Australia’s top 100
The top private schools of Australia have been ranked today and 20 Queensland colleges made the cut. See the full list and which ones made it into the national top 10.