Letter from the Australian Education Union

Half Day Stop Work – Tuesday 12th May

The Australian Education Union (AEU) has announced industrial action in the form of a regional half-day stop work on Tuesday, 12th May. 

On this day, AEU members will have the opportunity to attend a rally in Warrnambool to advocate for improved conditions for teachers and schools. 

Further information regarding the year levels impacted by the stop work will be communicated closer to the date. However, it is expected that arrangements will be similar to our previous stop work action day. The key difference this time is that the stop work will occur in the morning only, with staff returning to duty in the afternoon. 

As parents and carers know, staff at our school who are members of the Australian Education Union (AEU) have been involved in long-running negotiations with the state government and the Department of Education for improved pay and conditions. 

Despite an increased number of ongoing negotiations and the commencement of industrial action, including the statewide full day stopwork last term, there is still no fair offer on the table to address the key issues facing public school staff. Victoria’s public schools remain the lowest funded in the country, teachers are the lowest paid, with education support staff and school leaders underpaid as well. 

School staff also continue to face significant workload pressures. Staffing shortages continue to be experienced in public schools across the state. As part of the campaign, AEU members will be taking further industrial action, including halfday stopworks on a rolling, region-by-region basis. This means each school will be affected once. We understand this can cause disruption for students and families. Staff are taking this action because they care deeply about public education and want to see our schools properly funded, and to receive fair pay and conditions, all of which are critical to a prosperous future for Victoria’s public school students. 

We appreciate families’ understanding as we navigate this period and will continue to provide updates as they become available.

Australian Edcuation Union