Well in excess of 20,000 teachers, support staff and school leaders marched through the city centre on Thursday after walking off the job.
A sea of protesters draped in Australian Education Union red gathered at the intersection of Bourke and Swanston streets chanting, cheering and distributing flyers.
Traffic officers kept commuters at bay, with a several-block stretch of Bourke Street closed.
Placards called on the state’s Labor Government to live up to Victoria’s nickname as the “education state”.
“Supporting teachers equals supporting students,” one sign read.
“My students could write a better offer,” another said.
Three teachers who’d ventured to the march from regional Victoria said they had driven the six-hour round trip to show their frustration and disappointment with a range of stakeholders.
“With the decision since the email on Friday morning and then even the union responding to that and then the union asking individual members to vote rather than going to sub-branch first, that whole union process has just been undercut in the last few days,” one of them said.
“It’s about us going there in numbers and showing that we are out there and this is what we stand for and we don’t want anyone to not follow through the proper process with being in the union and having those discussions and consultation, too.”
The three were buoyed by the huge turnout.
“We were pleasantly surprised at how many people turned up – we were worried with there being such a split in the yes/no vote that we wouldn’t have as much support.
“... it’s interesting the signs that people have, because there’s still some people stuck on money, but then there’s a lot more, like us, who are more concerned about conditions, because we don’t care if you pay us more money unless you’re going to improve the conditions.”
Victorian Education Minister Ben Carroll says his door is always open to continue working with the AEU leadership. “The best way to recognise the work of our teachers and education support staff is good pay and conditions,” he said yesterday. PHOTO: AAP
The three country secondary school educators said Department Secretary Tony Bates’ email last Friday outlining the revised EBA offer rankled many.
“He didn’t get much love at our school,” one of the teachers shared.
“It felt a little like a threat that was basically, ‘we want to give you what you deserve, but basically you need to take it or you won’t get your pay rise before the end of the year’. It’s bullshit, it’s absolute bullshit.”
Bypassing the AEU and going straight to teachers and principals was a mistake, the three agreed.
“No-one was very happy with that at all. They’re trying to turn the non-union staff against the union, which was not ideal and not well received.”
The march yesterday came to a head outside state parliament, where union leaders delivered impassioned speeches.
State president Justin Mullaly foreshadowed more industrial action to keep pressure on the Victorian Government as it prepares to face the polls in November.
“We’ll be back here on Spring Street,” he said outside parliament.
“We will escalate our campaign, if we need to, we will stop work again.”
Also at the rally was Luisa Thiedeman, an education support worker at a school for children with autism.
She said funding constraints at specialist schools had reached a crisis point and were holding students and staff back.
“We are unrecognised, underfunded and underpaid,” she said.
“We do not have the relevant resources that we need on a daily basis to help our students.”
While all public schools remained open on Thursday, many classes were disrupted.
Mother-of-two Niki Galvin, who opted to keep her primary school-aged child at home, backed the striking teachers.
“Most parents instinctively understand how important it is that we attract and retain quality teachers,” she said.
“It’s only right that we support the union’s efforts to redress that inadequacy and historical unfairness.”
Union educators have now been locked in a pay dispute with the State Government for almost a year, with graduate teachers – the worst paid in the nation – earning $13,000 less than those in the Northern Territory, the best paid. PHOTO: AAP
The three regional teachers said from what they had seen on the ground, country Victorian families also had teachers’ backs.
“I haven’t received any negative comments by anyone to say that we’re doing the wrong thing,” one of them shared.
“I think most parents would be in support. Certainly in the city today people watching on were stopping and saying ‘good luck!’ and ‘hope it goes well!’ and ‘we support you!’
“I don’t feel like there’s any backlash from the community.”
The three were agreed that if the State Government made a commitment to funding schools alongside the new agreement, and said, ‘we’re going to put this much back into schools over the next 12 months’, they would possibly get an agreement over the line.
“But the problem is they’re trying to subdue teachers by paying us, but they’re actually not doing anything to try and improve the conditions at schools. The root cause of all of our issues is the lack of funding going into schools.
“It’s not just because teachers don’t get paid enough, it’s because they’re under the pump, because schools can’t actually give teachers time to do the work either.”
Union educators have now been locked in a pay dispute with the State Government for almost a year, with graduate teachers – the worst paid in the nation – earning $13,000 less than those in the Northern Territory, the best paid.
The Allan Government’s revised pitch of a 28.3 per cent pay rise over four years was narrowly defeated in a snap vote last week, opposed by just over 51 per cent of members.
State Education Minister Ben Carroll reiterated the latest pay offer would have made Victorian teachers and support staff the best paid in the country with the “best conditions”.
“Families are already juggling a lot, and today’s disruption is disappointing,” he said.
Mullaly acknowledged the recent offer was significant but argued it was not enough to meet the demands of educators.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare stressed teachers should be paid what they deserve and expressed confidence the Victorian government would ultimately be able to broker a deal, although his comments addressed wages only.
“The more people get paid, the more people want to do the job,” Clare said on Nine’s The Today Show yesterday morning.
“We’ve seen that in NSW, where the NSW Government has delivered a record pay rise to teachers, and now we’ve got vacancies in the classroom at 12-year lows.
“So, that’s good. I think the deal that the Victorian government has on the table is a 28 per cent pay rise, which is big.
“That’d be even bigger than NSW. So, that’s great news for teachers and, you know, I’m pretty optimistic that the Victorian Government and the teachers down there will work that out, and I hope they do that quickly because that’s what parents want and want to hear.”
(with AAP)
