Union calls for NT teachers to be highest paid in Aus

NT Teacher Union are demanding a competitive wage increase from the government to ensure there are enough teachers in Territory schools.

THE teachers’ union are gearing up to fight a four-year wage freeze and are calling to make Territory educators the highest paid in the country.

The NT government’s enterprise bargaining agreement would see public teachers’ wages suspended at the current rate, and in return a $4000 bonus in the first year and $2000 the next three years.

The Australian Education Union NT branch secretary Adam Lampe said they were instead calling for a competitive wage increase to better attract and retain interstate teachers in Territory schools.

“Our pay claim is that we should be the best paid teachers in the country, otherwise we can’t get people up here,” Mr Lampe said.

The appeal comes as Victorian teachers recently achieved a 2 per cent annual pay rise after an 18-month negotiation between the Australian Education Union and the Andrews government.

The new four-year Victorian agreement includes time in lieu for extra school activities such as camps and information nights, a reduction in face-to-face teaching hours, superannuation paid on parental leave and an increase in paid maternity leave.

Mr Lampe said to become the highest paid Territory teachers would need at least a 2.5 per cent pay bump, but they would be also campaigning for other incentives.

He said it would become more difficult to staff schools if the wage freeze was accepted given the competitive salary packages offered in other parts of the country.

Australian Education Union NT branch secretary Adam Lampe.

“Most of the teachers come from somewhere else because we don’t have a large graduate program,” Mr Lampe said.

“Why come to the Territory to work harder and get less pay?”

Mr Lampe said greater incentives were sorely needed to keep teachers in schools given the unique complications in the Territory.

“The huge turnover of staff is one of the big challenges that we face,” he said.

“It’s an isolated place … there’s this challenge of remoteness and teaching our community is a real culture shock.”

Mr Lampe said the union was preparing their ‘No’ campaign and were ready to put forth their ambitious pay claim.

But Mr Lampe said it would be a tough fight, saying a lead government negotiator had told him he was “living in a fantasy land”.

“I said yeah, fantasy land is called Victoria and you can get there by Qantas,” he said.

The Commissioner of Public Employment office said they could not comment as negotiations were ongoing.