More Tas school closures loom as support staff fight for resources
Education support staff warn more Tasmanian schools face closure unless the government updates a 30-year-old resourcing model to match modern demands.
The union representing school support staff will meet with the education department this week as the threat of further school closures looms large.
Education Facility Attendant Darren Bird said more schools would face closures if an agreement to update the three decades old resourcing allocation could not be reached.
Last week 14 schools closed as the support staff stopped work to call for immediate investment in EFA roles to match the reality of modern school operations and ensure student safety and educational standards can be maintained.
Mr Bird said colleagues have suffered physical and mental injuries as a result of increasing workload pressures, and students face risking injury if workers can’t be supported to work safely.
He has worked as an EFA for more than 13 years and in that time has seen resourcing allocation stall, but expectations on workers grow.
“We need extra resources, these are not the schools of 1997 anymore, they are the schools of 2025,” Mr Bird said.
“In 1997 student allocation at schools was 450. Now, some schools have 1000 students.
“Kitchen assistants had an average of 10 cooking classes per week, now that is 36.
“In 1997 students were expected to prepare their own ingredients. Now, the kitchen assistants are expected to have everything ready when the students come in.
“The kitchen assistants are expected to do the cleaning, the washing up, the mopping and keeping the classrooms safe and clean for students.
“They are also expected to jump in their car and go to the supermarket to pick up those ingredients.”
Mr Bird said one school he works at has no resources allocated for maintenance with one cleaner expected to do the work using his own tools.
Labor leader Josh Willie said if the workforce wasn’t looked after, services deteriorated.
“When the government isn’t engaging with their workforce and listening to their concerns, workers leave,” Mr Willie said on Sunday.
“And we’re in our national labour market, we’re seeing an exodus of good public servants who are delivering services for Tasmanians leaving for better opportunities elsewhere because they’re not being listened to.”
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said his government valued the public service, and the head of the department of education would meet with the United Workers Union this week to work through these matters.
Mr Rockliff said during the pandemic support staff and facility attendants were critical for ensuring the safety of schools and students who could not learn from home.
“I really value our facility attendants, and of course all schools do,” he said.
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