SA public school teachers set to strike for the second time this year
More than 350 public schools will be impacted by strike action on Thursday after the education union rejected the latest pay and conditions offer from the State Government. While the AEU says what's on the table is meagre, the Treasurer and Minsters argue what's been put forward meets what the union has been asking for.
Category
đŸ“º
TVTranscript
00:00 Flinders Street in Adelaide CBD awash with red nearly five years ago.
00:06 It's a sight set to be repeated on Thursday after the AEU rejected the state government's
00:12 latest pay and conditions offer for public school staff.
00:15 It's unacceptable and it just reminds me that this government is focused on short term political
00:23 imperatives.
00:24 The offer included extra measures to reduce workload plus a pay rise of 9.5% over three
00:30 years instead of one-off payments.
00:33 It wasn't enough to satisfy the union's executive.
00:36 Most of the state's teachers are worse off under this offer than the second offer.
00:42 The Treasurer says the government met the asks of the union and Andrew Goal in an attempt
00:47 to halt this week's industrial action.
00:49 He wanted an improved offer, we've ticked that box.
00:52 He wanted it by three o'clock yesterday, we've ticked that box.
00:55 He advised us to increase the offer in the first year, we ticked that box.
01:00 The evidence is there, they haven't ticked boxes at all.
01:02 It speaks for itself.
01:03 The decision to strike will shut 172 public schools and force another 203 into modified
01:10 learning, a bigger impact than September's action.
01:13 My very strong advice to parents if their school is one of the ones that will be closed
01:18 is you will need to make alternative arrangements as per the strike in September.
01:21 Year 12 exams will still go ahead at schools which close.
01:25 Both sides say they want the issue resolved quickly.
01:29 We want to get a better outcome for everyone here.
01:31 We've already put approximately $1.5 billion of additional resourcing on the table.
01:37 If the government cares about public education, if the government cares about attracting and
01:41 retaining new educators into teaching and keeping experienced teachers, then they have
01:46 to do better.
01:47 Frankly we need Stephen Mulligan and Andrew Goal to stop behaving like children and to
01:51 get down to the negotiating table.
01:52 But it's children and families who have been caught out by the ongoing dispute.
01:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]