Markets 
Teachers in Victoria’s government schools are preparing to take further strike action as they continue to fight the state government for better pay and working conditions.
The proposal put to educators is for classrooms to shut for half-day strikes when school returns for term 2 after the Easter school holidays. But some members of the Australian Education Union (AEU) want to go further and stage a repeat of last month’s statewide stoppage that brought 34,500 teachers, principals and support workers onto the streets of Melbourne for a mass protest on March 24.
As schools across Victoria prepare to close their gates on Thursday for two weeks of Easter holidays, the state government said on Wednesday it wants to keep wage talks with the AEU going throughout the break.
But the two sides remain far apart, with the AEU asking for a 35 per cent pay increase over three years and the government offering 17 per cent, with a 1.5 per cent overtime allowance.
An AEU council of 120 workplace delegates from primary and secondary schools across Victoria has authorised a rolling campaign of strikes and work bans to schools after they return from the Easter holidays if the government does not come forward with an acceptable offer.
The fresh walk-outs would hit one of the state’s 17 school districts – which range in scale between 50 and 150 schools, teaching between 9000 and 75,000 students – at a time, but the union has not communicated where and when the stoppages might begin.
Teachers would also refuse to attend meetings, or respond to emails from the Department of Education, and impose a ban on writing comments on semester report cards to parents.
Putting the motion to the council of representatives, the AEU’s state branch president Justin Mullaly said the union had no choice but to escalate its industrial actions.
“The failure of the Allan government to properly value and respect the work of AEU members and their continuing failure to properly fund Victorian public schools means there is no alternative but to enable actions to be put in place to further escalate our campaign,” Mullaly wrote in his motion to the council.
But some union members want to go further still. Encouraged by the success of last month’s strike, teachers at some schools are pushing for further 24-hour-strikes in term 2, along with a total ban on producing reports.
An attempt by the educators to get the council to vote for more drastic action was unsuccessful, but they have not given up, writing in a follow-up motion that the mood in some staff rooms was growing more militant.
“Limiting our industrial campaign to work bans and half-day regional strikes will not be as impactful as the statewide 24-hour strike we have taken on 24 March,” the unionists wrote.
“Sub-branches that have passed motions supporting at least 24 hour stop-works include Keilor Downs College, Virtual School Victoria, Fitzroy High School, The Pavilion and more.
“There is an appetite for serious escalation.”
Education Minister Ben Carroll said on Wednesday that departmental officials were working hard to find a settlement that would avoid the need for more strikes.
“The union and the Department of Education are meeting three times this week, including an all-day meeting,” the minister said.
“I’ve made it very clear to the union I want to continue to negotiate through the school holiday period as well.
“We are very committed to getting a good, fair deal done for what I think are the best teachers in the nation.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
From our partners
Read the full article here
