The Hodgman Liberal Government has been surprised and disappointed by the Australian Education Union’s actions designed to punish parents and families.
The AEU's claims that we are not negotiating are simply not true. The Government has continued to negotiate on improved employment conditions and arrangements with union representatives in good faith throughout the negotiation period, including at a meeting held on Monday and one scheduled again for today.
At a scheduled wage negotiation meeting today after some weeks of discussion with the AEU, the Government will table an offer which will see Tasmania’s teachers receive a fair and affordable pay rise of 6 per cent over three years.
The offer will also include a plan to reduce teacher contact hours by recruiting 95 additional specialist teachers, on top of the 250 extra teachers we have already committed to recruit.
The offer not only specifically addresses the AEU’s workload concerns but would also see dedicated specialist teachers such as maths, arts and sports teachers returned to Tasmanian primary schools for the first time in over 20 years. A reform that the AEU has been calling on for years and which Labor failed to deliver in 16 years of government.
We have always said that our policy of a 6 per cent pay rise over three years, means the Government will be able to employ more front line workers, like teachers. That is exactly what this offer does.
For the AEU to escalate industrial action in the middle of active negotiations, and when the Government’s offer was close to be finalised, smacks of political game-playing at the expense of school children and their families. Such behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the Government. We continue to negotiate in good faith with all unions. The AEU should do the same.
The Government is putting an offer on the table that not only provides for a fair and affordable pay rise but also addresses workload concerns by employing specialist teachers for every Tasmanian Primary School, and it is time for the AEU to accept the new offer and stop the threats of strike action that will lead to unnecessary disruption to students and their families.
More Media Releases from Jeremy Rockliff
More Media Releases from the Minister for Education and Training