Teachers are first to break deadlock

PUBLIC sector unions will today inform the State Government whether their members have voted to accept a peace-making one-year pay deal.

Several unions were last night continuing to tally votes from members on whether to accept the deal, which would ensure public servants received a backdated pay rise and kept the dispute from the Industrial Commission.

Teachers yesterday annouced they had accepted the oneyear interim pay offer, putting an end to their long-running industrial dispute for now.

School and TAFE teachers, principals, school psychologists and support staff have voted to accept a one-year pay deal which locks in backpay and resets the clock on negotiations.

Australian Education Union Tasmanian branch president Helen Richardson said the agreement was a step forward for members, but more progress was needed.

Talks for a more lasting deal will begin almost immediately.

“Education union members have broken the Government’s unfair and unsustainable wage cap policy with collective action and are looking forward to returning to the negotiating table for a longer-term agreement,” she said.

“The modest increases in this offer will leave Tasmania’s teachers the lowest paid in the country, dealing with the most complex and disadvantaged classes.

“With this offer came a commitment from the Government to return immediately to the negotiation table, and AEU members look forward to an opportunity to talk about a longer-term agreement that addresses excessive workloads.”

The Government was told members had voted to accept the offer by last night’s 5pm deadline, an AEU spokesman said. The offer accepted by those covered by the Teachers Agreement includes pay rises of 2.35 per cent, with 2.1 per cent backdated to March 1, as well as a one-off payment of 0.15 per cent pro rata of base salary, capped at $120.

TAFE teachers and staff covered by PSUWA agreements will get pay rises of 2.35 per cent, with 2.1 per cent backdated to December 1, 2018 (PSUWA), or March 1 (TAFE Teachers), as well as a one-off payment of 0.15 per cent pro rata of base salary, also capped at $120.

The Government struck a deal with public sector unions late last month to end a longrunning dispute over pay and conditions after failure to agree to a new three-year deal.

The one-year deal is worth up to 2.4 per cent.

The 12-month agreement would deliver a 2.1 per cent pay rise backdated to each workforce’s last agreement, an additional 0.25 per cent from the new agreement’s signing, and a one-off payment worth 0.15 per cent for workers on less than $80,000.

Workers earning more than $80,000 would receive a cash payment of $120.