Victorian public school teachers will hold another 24-hour statewide strike next week amid an ongoing dispute with the state government over pay and conditions.
Australian Education Union (AEU) Victorian Branch members have resolved to take further industrial action next Thursday, July 23, including stop-work action and a ban on unpaid overtime.
AEU Victorian branch president Justin Mullaly says the industrial action is necessary because Victorian public schools remain the lowest funded in the country.
“The Allan Labor government is purposefully denying at least $2.4 billion in funding for Victorian public schools,” he said.
Justin Mullaly says teachers, principals, and education support staff are working an average of 12 hours of unpaid overtime every week. (ABC News)
“In this underfunded system, teachers, principals, and education support staff are working an average of 12 hours unpaid overtime every week.
“The government must stop relying on the goodwill of school employees as a core part of their funding model for schools.
“Just three in 10 employees expect to remain working in public schools until retirement, and report that excessive workloads are one of the reasons why they will leave.”
In June, Victorian teachers went against AEU 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 more than a decade, the AEU announced in May it had reached an in-principle 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.
A Victorian government spokesman urged the AEU to return to negotiations to prevent statewide disruptions to families.
“This deal, which was endorsed by the AEU leadership, would have made Victorian teachers the best paid in the country together with the best conditions,”
the government spokesman said.
“We will always back our hardworking teachers, school leaders and education support staff.
“We call on the Australian Education Union to end its planned industrial action that will disrupt families across Victoria and continue negotiating in good faith.”
In March, teachers and supporters took statewide strike action, marching to parliament in central Melbourne, with police estimating 35,000 people were in attendance.
The March strike was the first of its kind since AEU members took statewide industrial action in 2013 when negotiations with the Baillieu Coalition government broke down.
