Union should reconsider action risking school shutdowns

Premier Jeremy Rockliff has called on the AEU to reconsider its plans to stop work next week which will be an unnecessarily big disruption to families and will impact student learning.

We want our teachers and school staff to have a pay rise before Christmas.

The Government has offered an immediate 3 per cent wage increase while we continue good faith negotiations on a new, longer-term agreement.

Tasmanians would understand that we simply cannot afford the union’s claim of 21.5 per cent over three years, including 11 per cent in one year, along with additional conditions that would add to these figures.

The wage offer made to unions is well above Tasmania's annual inflation rate of 1.7 per cent.

The last thing unions should be doing is impacting on families and robbing children of valuable classroom time.

I urge the unions to call off their strike action, agree to a fair pay rise in the interim while we work together towards a longer-term agreement.