The state government has increased its pay offer to public school teachers in a bid to stop next week\u2019s planned strike action.<\/p>\n
But the Australian Education Union (AEU) has accused the government of making \u201canti-union\u201d moves by sending the offer directly to employees.<\/p>\n
The revised offer would deliver a 28.3 per cent pay increase for teachers, principals and education support staff over four years, including an initial 12.75 per cent increase by October 2026.<\/p>\n
Education minister Ben Carroll said the offer would halve required meeting hours and align education support staff wage increases with teachers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than 90,000 full-time teachers will earn over $1,000 more per month by October this year and almost $3,000 more per month by 2030 and education support staff will earn $1600 more per month by 2030,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Carroll urged the AEU to cancel next Thursday’s planned strike.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents should be in classrooms and parents shouldn’t be left scrambling for childcare or losing a day’s pay,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
AEU Victorian branch president Justin Mullaly said the core components of the offer remained unchanged from the deal presented by the government in May.<\/p>\n
He said the union received the offer late on Thursday and would hold a meeting on Friday to discuss it.<\/p>\n
Mullaly also criticised the government\u2019s decision to communicate the offer directly to employees.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey should know better; they\u2019ve decided that they want to go around the union. They want to go straight to employees with this offer, but I want you to know first because it\u2019s union members who get to decide,\u201d Mullaly said.<\/p>\n
The AEU confirmed earlier this week that public school teachers would undertake a 24-hour strike on 23 July, following their first industrial action in 13 years in March.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The state government has increased its pay offer to public school teachers in a bid to stop next week\u2019s planned strike action. But the Australian Education Union (AEU) has accused the government of making \u201canti-union\u201d moves by sending the offer directly to employees. The revised offer would deliver a 28.3 per cent pay increase for […]<\/p>\n