Queensland teachers face conciliation over pay as strike vote looms
Queensland teachers’ pay negotiations has been sent to conciliation as a strike ballot closes, with their union refusing to rule out industrial action, despite government intervention.
The Queensland teachers union has not ruled out industrial action after the Crisafulli government sent stalled enterprise bargaining negotiations to conciliation.
State Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek made the decision on Monday for the Industrial Relations Commission to mediate further discussions between the Queensland Teachers Union and the Department of Education after two pay offers were rejected.
The decision was announced hours before a ballot of the union’s 48,000 members about potential industrial action was set to close on Monday, which could see teachers stop work for up to 24 hours at a time.
Mr Langbroek said the Liberal National Party government was “committed to reaching an agreement as soon as possible to provide certainty and stability for Queensland’s teaching workforce. Today, the Department of Education has requested conciliation through the Queensland IRC … as we work towards an agreement to make our teachers well-resourced and respected.”
The Department of Education has met with the union 17 times over the past five months, which resulted in two pay rise offers of 3 per cent pay rise from July 1, 2025, followed by an annual increase of 2.5 per cent in 2026 and 2027, both of which were rejected.
The proposed wage increases were on par with the state wage offer, which was promptly rejected by the state’s 270,000 public servants earlier this year.
The latest offer to educators, delivered on June 27, included a less generous cost-of-living adjustment than in the teachers’ previous enterprise bargaining agreement, a $100 overnight camp allowance, an extra student-free day a year starting next year, and a new pay band of $135,333 annually for “experienced senior teachers”.
The QTU is advocating for nation-leading pay and conditions. Its president, Cresta Richardson, has not ruled out taking industrial action as the negotiations are brought before the commission. “The QTU thoroughly prepares for a range of outcomes during enterprise bargaining; conciliation can be part of this process.
“The QTU welcomes the opportunity to clearly articulate its positions before the commission and the serious issues affecting the teaching profession and their school communities.
“Ballots close for QTU members to vote on protected industrial action at 5, 28 July, with strategic decisions on what form of action that will be to follow.”
Hundreds of teachers rallied outside Queensland’s parliament in Brisbane after school hours on state budget day, calling for better pay and conditions. They are the second occupation to have been ordered to front the IRC.
The Nurses and Midwives Union was referred to the commission in June, after three dozen meetings with the government over a six-month period. Members are taking industrial action for the first time in two decades.
It is understood negotiations with the police and firefighters unions are ongoing.
Head of the Queensland Council of Unions Jacqueline King has previously called on the government to offer public servants a new broadbased pay offer.
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