Victorian teachers have gone against their union’s advice and voted down a pay rise of up to 32 per cent.
After a hard-fought campaign that included the first 24-hour Victorian teacher strike in 13 years, the Australian Education Union (AEU) last month announced it had reached an in-principal agreement with the state government.
The agreement would have granted public school educators pay rises of between 28 and 32 per cent over four years and more student-free days.
Victorian teachers had been fighting for a 35 per cent rise over three years for all members, arguing they were paid far less than those in other states.
After reaching the agreement, AEU Victorian branch president Justin Mullaly said he believed the offer would be accepted by his members and it would make some teachers the highest paid in the country.
But the offer was put to union members for a vote and was rejected.
The union is holding an urgent meeting after teachers rejected an in-principle pay agreement between with the state government. (ABC News: Stephanie Ferrier)
Mr Mullaly this morning acknowledged that the teachers had gone against the union’s recommendation but said they were always going to have the final say.
“My job is to engage in the democratic processes of our union, which is exactly what we’ve done,”
he said.
He revealed just over 42 per cent of members voted to accept the deal and almost 58 per cent rejected it.
“They are deeply concerned about their inability to do their job in a reasonable way,” he said.
“I’ve got no doubt that people will say … that 28 per cent is a good offer but to reject that tells you the stress, tells you the impact that members feel when they know they can’t do their jobs properly.
“It’s also the case that our [education support staff] in our schools, simply weren’t offered the same pay outcome.”
AEU Victorian president Justin Mullaly says teachers want the government to address their working conditions. (ABC News)
Mr Mullaly said the AEU’s 120-member joint primary and secondary council would hold an immediate meeting to discuss next steps.
He said the union and government would need to renegotiate pay and conditions that were acceptable to the members, including in relation to excessive workloads and getting “every Victorian public school just like public schools are in every other state and territory”.
Mr Mullaly said he would not rule out the possibility of another strike.
“AEU members have sent a clear message to the premier and her government that the in-principle agreement and current levels of public school funding do not go far enough to address their concerns,” he said.
“This is the message I will strongly convey to the state government.”
‘Teachers deserve to be paid more,’ opposition says
Labor frontbencher Harriet Shing said the state government would continue working with the union.
“We don’t walk away from the negotiation and we don’t turn our backs on workers,” she said.
“They deserve a pay rise, the parties will return to the negotiation table and that work will go on.”
Government frontbencher Harriet Shing says negotiations will continue towards an offer that is acceptable to teachers. (ABC News)
She said she hoped an agreement acceptable to the teachers could be reached without another strike.
Shadow Education Minister Brad Rowswell said the rejection of the offer demonstrated that Labor and the education minister were out of touch with Victoria’s teachers.
“While Ben Carroll is focused on his own leadership aspiration, Victorian teachers simply want him focused on a better deal for them,” Mr Rowswell said.
“Teachers deserve to be paid more.
“Jacinta Allan must now step in and give an immediate assurance that she will do everything she possibly can to get back to the negotiating table and deal with this matter urgently,” he said.
