Will Hunter, Yorke Peninsula Country Times
Educators across Yorke Peninsula called for better pay and conditions as part of industrial action on Friday, September 1.
The strike followed a breakdown in negotiations between the state government and the Australian Education Union.
Minlaton District, Wallaroo Mines, Wallaroo Primary and Yorketown Area Schools were forced to close as they did not have sufficient staff to ensure adequate standards of student safety and welfare, leaving parents to find alternative arrangements.
Other sites such as Kadina Memorial School ran a modified learning program which included supervised study for those completing their South Australian Certificate of Education.
The AEU is negotiating with the state government for a 20.6 per cent pay rise over three years — 8.6 per cent in the first year followed by 5.5 per cent in the subsequent two years — for all teaching staff as part of its new enterprise bargaining agreement.
The union is also calling for a reduction of contact teaching time by 20 per cent to allow educators more time to complete administration work.
The state government responded to demands by offering a three per cent pay rise over three years.
Minister for Education Blair Boyer acknowledged the strikes had caused disruption for families across South Australia and hoped the government could continue to negotiate to avoid further industrial action.
He said he agreed teachers deserved a pay rise and a reduction in workload but urged the union to narrow its scope to demands which can be accommodated by the state budget.
“We are committed to getting an agreement in place as soon as we can to deliver a workload reduction and a pay rise as soon as we can — I’d like to do that without having any more industrial action,” Mr Boyer said.
“We cannot agree to a 20 per cent reduction in teaching time, and of course, the budget cannot accommodate that either.”
It is estimated the demands as they currently stand would cost the state $3 billion over three years.
Educators across the state assembled in key locations to voice their frustrations, with local teachers uniting in Victoria Square, Kadina, to broadcast the AEU’s live stream from Parliament House, Adelaide.
Teacher Ben Graefe said there is an attraction and retention crisis in education in regional South Australia.
“It is getting harder and harder to get a teacher in front of a classroom because the workloads are growing out of control, the children are becoming more complex and other states are paying teachers more — many staff are jumping borders or simply going elsewhere,” Mr Graefe said.
“We’re putting in the extra hours behind the scenes, on weekends, those sorts of things, to ensure when we arrive at school to begin teaching at 9 am Monday, it looks like everything is under control.
“We’re still able to provide our kids with top quality education, but we’re burning ourselves out trying to do it in the process.”
Teacher Jane Swan said some of the offers put forward by the state government had been laughable and would ultimately put more pressure on staff workloads.
“The negotiations have been ongoing for some time and so far, the solutions presented have been minimal,” Ms Swan said.
“We have some of the most passionate, wonderful teachers in our area who love their jobs, kids and the community, and want the absolute best for their students.
“So, we break our backs doing what needs to be done in order to give them the opportunities which students might be afforded in the cities.”
The AEU has warned it is prepared to take further industrial action as soon as Friday, September 15, if it does not receive an improved offer.
This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 5 September 2023.
