AEU Stop-Work 23 July

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you for your important support for our campaign for improved pay and conditions. At the moment an agreement between the state government and AEU members is not yet in place and the dispute remains unresolved. This means AEU members at Fairfield Primary School will be stopping work for 24 hours on Thursday 23 July 2026. It is important that you know exactly why we have reluctantly decided to take this action.

We understand our action presents difficulties for some parents and carers. However, the fact is that when it comes to investing in education, Victoria is bottom of the class. We are very concerned about the impact of this on your child’s education.

Every other state and territory fund their public schools to the minimum amount required, except for Victoria. Victorian public schools are not being funded to the nationwide funding standard, which means that staff at our school are regularly working many hours of unpaid overtime each week to ensure that students receive the support and educational programs they deserve. The goodwill of teachers, education support staff, and principals is no replacement for full and proper funding. Victorian public schools can no longer be the lowest funded in the country and AEU members are standing together to demand that our schools are fully funded.

Australian Education Union members in every public school across Victoria are trying to get the state government to fund our schools properly and deliver a new pay and conditions agreement. While an offer was made by the government in May this year, it failed to address some key concerns including in relation to workloads that need to be better addressed in a revised offer. 

At the moment, the state government refuses to make the investment that would properly allow schools to recruit and retain the staff needed. With only 3 in 10 public school workers planning to stay in their jobs until retirement, nothing is more important for the learning and wellbeing of our students than retaining the existing workforce and attracting the next generation, especially at a time of ongoing staffing shortages. 

This means as union members we are left with no alternative but to take further stop-work action on 23 July 2026, and we would like to count on your support in this campaign.