Australian Education Union state president wants teachers’ pay deal dumped

Teachers last week voted to accept the State Government’s pay offer but now a union official is calling for the deal to be rejected.

THE education union’s state president will urge the body’s branch council to reject a wages agreement already endorsed by members that would cut the pay of relief teachers.

Australian Education Union state president Helen Richardson wrote to branch council members late on Monday foreshadowing three motions she will put forward when the group meets on Friday.

MORE:

TEACHERS BACK STATE GOVERNMENT’S NEW PAY OFFER

TEACHERS WIN BREAKTHROUGH IN PAY DISPUTE

AEU LEADERSHIP ON NOTICE AFTER NO-CONFIDENCE MOTIONS

Ms Richardson will urge branch council members to reject the pay agreement the union negotiated with the State Government, revise the threshold issues required for a new offer to be endorsed and “recognise a current crisis in attracting relief teachers across all sectors”.

AEU state branch president Helen Richardson wants the branch council to reject the pay agreement. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

“While the latest Government offer to members on the teachers agreement contains a long list of benefits to members and for public education, significant numbers of members have expressed strong concerns over the Government’s proposed changes affecting relief teachers,” Ms Richardson’s letter said.

“As a member-led union, when members speak, it’s our job to listen and respond.”

Two Hobart colleges moved motions of no-confidence in the union’s leadership after it negotiated to cut relief teacher loading up to 50 percentage points to 130 per cent.

Relief teachers typically earn more because of the uncertainty of their job.

The union has defended the relief teacher pay cut as being required by the government in order to offset other gains, including allowing full-time primary school teachers extra planning and preparation time.

Ms Richardson’s letter said: “There is only one way to secure the significant gains that were contained in the Government’s offer — as a united union.”

The Australian Education Union was the first public sector union to come to an agreement with the Government after a months-long impasse over demands for a 3 per cent pay rise.

A Tasmanian Government spokesman said: “The wages offer is the result of a negotiation process that the AEU executive has unanimously accepted.”