1 September 2023
The Greens are urging the Government to provide a better deal for SA’s public teachers as thousands of educators prepare to take industrial action today.
The Australian Education Union (AEU) has called on the Government to offer a deal which ensures sustainable teacher workloads, provides a School Services Officer in every classroom, and includes a salary rise of 20 per cent over three years to attract and retain public teachers and other educators.
The AEU’s calls come after a recent report by UniSA found that half of all educators will leave the profession in five years.
“The current offer is a slap in the face to public school teachers. After years of COVID, the pressure on teachers is higher than ever, yet they continue to be undervalued and underpaid,” said Greens Education Spokesperson Robert Simms MLC.
“Given that the government was willing to throw half a billion dollars at a university merger without even seeing the business case, it’s a bit rich to for them to argue that they can’t afford to pay teachers what they are worth.”
“The Greens stand in solidarity with all those public school educators taking industrial action today. We support them in their struggle for better pay and work conditions.”
Robert Simms will speak at today’s rally for public education on the steps of Parliament House at 11am.