Picture: MOLLY TAYLOR
DOZENS of Limestone Coast teachers will join a state-wide education union strike on Monday unless the State Government makes an 11th hour pay deal offer to end an ongoing impasse.
Australian Education Union South East members are poised to march through the heart of Mount Gambier to protest for better pay and conditions for public educators.
With the strike potentially throwing thousands of students into limbo on Monday, the number of schools affected was not known late yesterday.
Regional schools had a deadline of 5pm yesterday to declare their involvement in the full-day stop work action.
Lucindale Area School principal and AEU elected executive member Adrian Maywald said the stagnant pay rejection called for an emergency executive meeting on Monday to review the pay deal conditions on the table.
“After hours of deliberation, we developed a 107-point plan of what we thought were the most critical elements to ensure for public education success,” Mr Maywald said.
“It has taken a long time for the State Government to come back with an offer and the offer they did bring back did not meet our core needs.
“The public education system has grown by 3pc over the past year so we are heading in the right direction of a world-class system but we need an offer to keep achieving that.”
A union ballot revealed 78pc of sub branches voted in favour of the one-day stoppage and 94pc were in favour of focused time in teaching and learning actions.
The executive has requested clarity over unclear agreement conditions including suitable classroom conditions, ongoing country incentives, competitive salary rates and pay incentives for higher-level teachers.
“Hopefully we will receive an offer where the government will meet us halfway and then can reconsider and call the strike off,” he said.
“Time restraints were also discussed by executive. If something was offered on Friday, it would be hard to call off the strike on Monday.
“I honestly wish it never got to this point and I am concerned about what will happen if the strike does go ahead.”
Mr Maywald said the agreement rebuttal was about improving learning conditions for students not about money.
“As a union we are asking to clarify murky areas so we know students will not be worse off if the agreement was made,” he said.
“Maybe we should forget the pay offer and should be just offered suitable conditions where we can go home and teachers are able to live a balanced lifestyle.
“If a strike does go ahead it will disrupt learning, teachers who strike will not be paid and it will obviously disrupt other workplaces and become an inconvenience to parents.”
Conditions will vary depending on amount of union members in each school, according to the elected executive member.
“If we had a government which cared about education these agreements would be completed much swifter, smoother and without deliberation,” Mr Maywald said.
“When we invest in education, research show a higher standard of living is achieved for all involved society.
“At the moment a plan is proposed but it is not achievable and children will miss out.”
State Treasurer Rob Lucas said hard-working South Australian families and children would be unfairly punished by the AEU union bosses’ insistence on strike action.
“We are disappointed, but perhaps not surprised, the union have got their wish and proceeded down the path of maximum disruption and chaos for parents, grandparents and students in the final week of the term,” Mr Lucas said.
“While we respect their right to industrial action, we have made it quite clear that no amount of chanting, waving placards and singing John Farnham songs will make more money magically appear in the budget.
“They had booked the steps of Parliament House for their protest three weeks ago.”
Protesters – who will be dressed in red and waving placards – are planned to mass at the Rail Lands on Monday before marching along Bay Road and Commercial Street to the Limestone Coast education office.
