More than 100 Queensland Catholic schools will be hit with strikes next week as the Independent Education Union ramps up a concentrated campaign to demand better pay and conditions.
More than 4000 Catholic teachers and support staff will walk off the job for one hour on Wednesday, August 23, hitting some of the state’s most prestigious schools, including All Hallows’ School and Stuartholme School in Brisbane.
IEU Queensland and Northern Territory branch secretary Terry Burke said the strike action was a “last resort” to push Catholic school employers to the negotiating table.
“There’s a workload crisis for teachers in our schools but the employers don’t want to talk about it,” he said.
“Catholic school support staff haven’t seen a change in their wage structure in over 30 years but the employers don’t want to talk about it.
“Next week’s action is about telling Catholic school employers to reconsider their approach and return to the bargaining table with proposals that address these outstanding employee concerns.”
The strike in Queensland will follow a rally outside NSW Premier Chris Minns’ office on Wednesday from the NSW and ACT branch of the union.
IEU members are pushing the Premier to increase teacher pay after rejecting what they termed an “insulting” offer to state school teachers earlier this month.
The Minns government proposed lifting baseline salaries for state school teachers 12.2 per cent from a current base of about $75,000 to $85,000.
Teachers with seven years of service would see their pay jump 8 per cent from about $113,000 to $122,000.
IEU NSW/ACT branch secretary Mark Northam said the state school pay offer directly influenced how much Catholic teachers could get in their own negotiations.
“The consequences for state school teachers in NSW immediately affect teachers in Catholic systemic schools across NSW,” he said, noting that while the pay scales were different, the “top and bottom” were the same.
“They are inextricably woven together,” he said.
“It (the pay offer) directly impacts what our members can achieve.”
Mr Northam said the offer was a “significant uplift” but it would not be enough to address the sector’s widespread shortages.
“It is a necessary uplift if you want to reposition it (teaching) as a profession comparable to other like professions,” he said.
The afternoon rally follows an IEU email petition that delivered nearly 3500 emails to Mr Minns and NSW Education Minister Prue Car.