Violence against NT teachers is ‘routine’

PROTECTION of teachers has been a hot topic at the Australian Education Union NT’s Darwin conference.

“There’s such a routine nature of physical violent attacks, verbal threats against teachers and staff in schools, and such a blase attitude from the authority that this is sort of normalised behaviour,” AEUNT president Jarvis Ryan said yesterday.

THE protection of school staff from violent students proved a hot topic at yesterday’s launch of the Australian Education Union NT, Darwin conference.

AEUNT president Jarvis Ryan said this year there had been a surge in educators signing up to the union, with more than 2000 NT teachers now members. He said the huge membership meant they could represent educators better.

In his opening address, he said there was one incident recently where the union was able to step in and support a heavily pregnant teacher after there was pressure to return a student to school who had allegedly threatened to throw a rock at her stomach.

“There’s such a routine nature of physical violent attacks, verbal threats against teachers and staff in schools and such a blase attitude from the authority that this is sort of normalised behaviour,” he said.

Union members also discussed issues around housing, permanency, work hours and workplace safety.

Mr Ryan said those motions put forward would be discussed at length.

“The main topics include funding of schools, especially schools in remote settings, funding for students with additional needs and working conditions for teachers,” he said.

“The state of teacher housing can be very poor in remote communities and it can take weeks or months for repairs to be actioned.”

The conference was attended by more than 100 members from across the Territory.

Delegates also debated the enterprise bargaining agreement offer.

The union has been in talks with the Government for the last 10 months.

As of late yesterday, no decision had been made on the EBA offer.

The union also launched its local campaign of the Fair Funding Now push, which aims to reverse the Commonwealth’s decisions to cut funding to public schools.