Teachers escalate work bans in response to Government inaction on workload and pay concerns

Teachers, principals and support staff in schools, colleges and TAFE have this week escalated industrial action in response to the State Government’s continued refusal to address concerns over crippling workload and unfair pay, AEU members said today.

“Despite witnessing educators last week taking unprecedented state-wide Stop Work Action, the Hodgman Government is still refusing to take workload and pay concerns of educators seriously, leaving them with little choice but to escalate actions,” said Roz Madsen, AEU Tasmania Branch State Manager.

“Reluctantly, educators will apply bans to a range of administrative tasks such as entering student attendance data in primary schools and withholding comments on Term IV school reports and these actions are directed at the Government to convince them to start bargaining in good faith.”

In the school and college sector, the following additional bans apply:

• Student attendance: No entering of daily student attendance data in Edupoint. This ban does not apply to high schools, colleges or district high schools.
• Report writing: Term 4 student reports are not to include comments and teachers should not undertake any administrative tasks associated with the development of these reports.
• School annual reviews: 2018 annual reviews and accountability and acquittal processes are not to be submitted.
• Out-of-hours emails: No responding to employer emails outside of paid work time.
• Signature blocks: insert campaign logos into signature blocks. 
• Leave work on time each Thursday
• Wear campaign colours: Every Friday wear campaign colours and badges in the workplace.

Work Bans specific to the TAFE sector are:

• Teachers are not to visit employers of apprentices as required by Tasmanian Traineeships and Apprenticeships Committee (TTAC) Policy.
• Teachers may write reports for apprentices as required by TTAC Policy but are not to deliver them to the employer.
• Teachers are to work to rule, no overtime, no teaching above mandated weekly teaching load.
• Hand back work issued phones

“Will Hodgman’s Government has so far failed to offer any measures to tackle crippling educator workloads or negotiate in good faith over salary and is instead determined to have Tasmania’s experienced school teachers lowest paid in the country,” said Ms Madsen.

“We have had overwhelming support from parents and the community for our quality education campaign as they appreciate the workload pressures that teachers are under and we thank them for their understanding.”

Harriet Binet is Campaigns Manager for the Education Union (Tasmania)