Forty thousand Victorian government school staff marched on 24 March, in a sea of red Australian Education Union (AEU) shirts, with tens of thousands more out on strike. It was the first strike since 2013.
Teachers and school staff are outraged by the super exploitation we face, where good educational results depend upon overwork to the point of education workers sacrificing their mental health. Interviews of those marching were very clear: our struggle is both about pay equity and also resourcing schools properly.
AEU placards and home-made signs mocked the State Government’s hypocrisy in calling Victoria “the education state” while cutting $2.4 billion from school funding. The strike received wall-to-wall mainstream media coverage, with even the Murdoch press reporting education workers’ views sympathetically because of the strength of the strike.
Our last Agreement in 2022 was accepted without any industrial action. It contained pay rises below inflation, and minor workload improvements. This has reduced unpaid work by teachers from 17 hours to 15 hours per week.
This was not nearly enough to meet workers’ appetite for large changes to save people from burning out. Thousands of AEU members resigned in disgust. The agreement received a significant “No” vote against the union leadership’s call for a “Yes” vote, but it was not enough to reject the Agreement to fight for something better.
Victorian teachers are now the lowest paid in the country. The AEU is demanding a 35 per cent pay increase over three years, while the government has offered just 17 per cent, in a one-off 8 per cent pay rise followed by just 3 per cent a year. These annual increases would see us again fall behind inflation.
The 24 hour strike on 24 March was a powerful shot-in-the-arm for AEU members. It clearly demonstrated that when teachers move at once, the impact is felt across the state. Hundreds of schools shut down completely, and hundreds more opened their doors but did not offer a program on the day. Over 12,000 members have signed up to the union, including both those returning after resigning in 2002 and new teachers and education workers entering the government school system.
But with a Victorian election on the way, it’s urgent to escalate the action. A rank-and-file group “Fight The Crisis” leafletted the crowd with a motion for workplaces calling for a further 24 hour stoppage. Disgracefully, the AEU leadership has been bureaucratically blocking this motion at regional meetings, refusing to let it be put to a vote.
The AEU leadership, through Branch Council, has called rolling half-day stoppages and several work bans to keep action going. They have labelled this as “escalating” the action, but in reality it will not have the impact of the 24 hour stoppage and march. If the negotiations drift into the pre-election period in October and November this year, the government will not legally be able to agree to a new agreement in the caretaker period, and whoever comes out victorious at the ballot box may be more confident to take on the AEU. This makes sharp action urgent.
While the memory of the brilliant stoppage on 24 March is fresh members’ minds, it is crucial we fight to escalate action and capture the rage and mood to fight.
By a Victorian AEU member
