Teachers push for more

QUEENSLAND teachers have accused the state government of “undermining” their profession with their offer of an 11 per cent pay rise over three years, with some staff pushing for at least 10 per cent each year.

This week the powerful teachers union presented an offer for members to consider after months of negotiation with the government, which would see teachers given a 4 per cent rise this year, 4 per cent next year, and 3 per cent the following year.

A cost of living adjustment, to offset rising inflation, was also included in the offer and capped at 3 per cent.

But messages circulating among teachers seen suggest some would like to see a minimum of 10 per cent pay rise each year, along with increased sick pay, reduced class sizes, extra non-contact time and more student-free days.

“Our government must stop disrespecting the profession – these aren’t unreasonable conditions,” one posted.

Some teachers were also adamant the wage offer amounted to a pay cut, given the current and projected rate of inflation.

“This is a poison pill that they want us to swallow to undermine our wages long term and force real pay cuts on us. This will be used to make us seem unreasonable and make it almost impossible to maintain our pay as a profession,” one teacher wrote.

“This is unambiguously designed to undermine our wages and is framed in an intentionally deceitful and misleading manner. There is no plausible scenario in which we get a pay rise, and many, many plausible scenarios in which we take a substantial pay cut and have our longterm bargaining position undermined.”

Another said the offer did not address the issue of rising workloads for teachers and school leaders.

“We’ve been saying for decades that we need to improve our pay and conditions, and this does neither,” one teacher wrote.

But some teachers urged their colleagues to accept the offer which was on the table, pointing to teachers in other states being offered less and saying there was no guarantee a better offer would be made.