Tasmanian teachers to down tools for stopwork meetings

UPDATED: Public schools across Tasmania face further disruption as teachers take industrial action in support of a claim for better pay and working conditions.

PUBLIC schools across Tasmania face further disruption as teachers take industrial action in support of a claim for better pay and working conditions.

The dispute in the state’s education system continues to worsen, with both sides accusing each other of failing to negotiate in good faith.

Teachers will turn up late to school after stopwork meetings in the state’s North and North-west on Tuesday, November 27, and on Wednesday, November 28, in the South.

Australian Education Union state manager Roz Madsen said members were expected to return to schools by 10.30am after the 45-minute meetings.

An estimated 5600 teachers at public schools, colleges and TAFE are expected to take part in the industrial action.

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Ms Masden said teachers did not want to take industrial action, but the Government was leaving them with no choice.

“Educators have been trying to negotiate for months with the State Government for immediate solutions to crippling workload issues and for fair pay but it has all fallen on deaf ears,” Ms Masden said.

AEU state manager Roz Madsen at a press conference at AEU headquarters in Hobart late last month.

Teachers are seeking a pay increase of 3 per cent, as well as reduced workloads.

“Our teachers, support staff and principals are actually feeling incredibly angry with the way that the Government has been disrespecting them all through these negotiations,” she said.

“We have put forward a reasonable claim, all of it aimed at addressing the workload challenges that are in our schools and TAFE and in particular to deliver a quality education.

“There has been no progress in those negotiations. In fact what our teachers are hearing through the media is nothing but disrespectful and rude and ill-informed comments from the politicians.”

Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said the industrial action was unfair to students and families and he stuck by the Government’s pay offer.

Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff.

“The Government condemns the Australian Education Union’s latest attempts to disrupt students’ education and inconvenience parents,” he said.

“Our message to the union is clear: there is a fair and affordable payrise of 6 per cent over three years on the table. Stop disrupting students and parents and call off the action announced as a media stunt today.

“Let’s be very clear — the AEU is attempting to close schools and disrupt families in pursuit of a bigger payrise. The onus is on them to have a rethink and realise that parents do not want their children’s learning disrupted by union action.

“Our 6 per cent payrise over three years allows us to employ 250 more teachers around the state over the next six years. That’s a good plan for teachers, for teacher workload and for students.”

Labor spokeswoman Michelle O’Byrne said Labor respected the right of teachers to take industrial action in support of their claims.

“One of the things that is most disappointing about this Government is that nothing ever seems to be their fault,” Ms O’Byrne said.

“It is time now to sit down and negotiate in good faith, come to an agreed outcome with the staff that meets the needs of both staff and the students.

“It’s not good enough for the Minister to sit back and blame everybody else when he can’t resolve this issue with his own staff.”