The South Australian Education Union and the state government are still at loggerheads over better pay and conditions for public educators.

Union president Andrew Gohl told this newspaper [Naracoorte Community News] that the parties have not reached any agreement yet, and their executives “will determine whether industrial action is needed” again.

If the union members vote for a second strike action, many public schools, including those in Naracoorte and the Limestone Coast region, would close for another day.

An industrial action on September 1 resulted in the closure of over 160 public South Australian schools, with teachers protesting outside the South Australian Parliament.

According to the Education Department, 167 of South Australia’s 927 public schools and pre-schools were closed or operating on a reduced program because of the strike.

Mr Gohl said government negotiators were working on developing an improved second offer to meet the union’s stated deadline.

“We wait for an improved offer. If there remain unresolvable matters, the AEU executives will determine whether industrial action is needed,” he said.

Mr Gohl claimed that after nine months of negotiations, the Premier was still standing in the way of better educational outcomes for South Australian students.

“There is a social contract between the government and the public to adequately invest in and provide a quality public education system. The Premier is breaching that contract.

“Every day, over 35,000 South Australian students are going without a consistent teacher. It is a crisis affecting schools and preschools right across our state.

“Teachers, leaders, and support staff are doing their best to paper over the cracks and keep the system running, but this treatment cannot go on.

“The result of this ballot shows we are not willing to accept an offer that would see the current crisis in public education continue”, Mr Gohl explained.

He said the strike action was not just about pay.

“It’s about providing a set of working conditions that ensure our educators can provide the very best for South Australian students.

“When half of the teachers are planning to leave, the government’s offer doesn’t come close to supporting a workforce at breaking point, and comments like those made by the Treasurer only push us further to the edge.

“We care deeply about the education of children, and that’s why this action is so important. We’re asking for patience and support while we fight for your child’s future.”

A local educator’s take on the strike

A local high school teacher took to social media last week, publicly expressing her personal views to the community about the strike action.

“As one of the teachers going on strike (September 1), I would like to pass on some of the reasons why so that you have more complete information than just the official version from the Education Department and state government,” the teacher stated.

“Although I’m a teacher and a union member, this post is purely from me as an individual and does not represent either the department or the union. I’ll include the views of other striking teachers as best I can, but there is obviously a diversity of opinion within the group.

“Strikes are bad,” the teacher wrote.

“None of us are doing this for the fun of it. We know that it disrupts our students, their families, and our community.

“Unfortunately, it’s also the only option we have to force the government to make a fair deal. Union negotiators have been “in discussions” with the Education Department for over six months, but the department has essentially ignored everything that the union has put to them.”

The teacher stated that the media described the saga as “a pay dispute”, which was not the main issue.

“Like everyone else, we’d like our wages to keep up with inflation, but pay is not the main issue; it’s workload and other conditions.

“We are struggling to keep up with the work that we know needs to be done to support your children and their learning.

“Some staff are working part-time just so that they can have some time outside of work for their own families.”

The educator said teaching jobs were so unattractive that many could not be filled, especially in country schools.

“As a result, we have several unqualified teachers working at our school (university students studying education).

“Excellent people are authorised and doing their very best, but it’s unfair to expect someone to perform at their best when they are still in training.

“We need to stand up for proper funding of public schools and the learning conditions of our students.

“SSO support in classrooms would make a huge difference in our ability to ensure that the wide spread of students in our classes all get the learning that they deserve.”

The teacher said more administrative support would let our leaders focus on providing quality educational leadership.

“We care deeply about the long-term quality of education for all our students, and that’s why we’re striking, even though it hurts us all to do so.”

This article appeared in the Naracoorte Community News.