On 11 June, every public primary school, high school, college and specialist school was shut down across the ACT by a full-day strike of the teachers’ union. Coming after an initial two-hour work stoppage in May, these were the first industrial actions of the Canberra Australian Education Union in fifteen years.
Andrew, a maths teacher and member of the Canberra Socialists, recalled the atmosphere in the union meeting during the initial work stoppage: “The energy in that room was immense. There definitely is a willingness to fight”.
The protest formed a sea of red, the union’s colour, in front of the Legislative Assembly. About 2,000 people were there, coming from 93 schools. Hoots and cheers went up for the Jervis Bay school teachers who drove 200km to be there.
There was frustration with the ACT government, which had been stone walling in negotiations. It had refused to propose a new contract despite the existing one expiring in March and talks having begun twelve months ago. When a speaker mentioned support from some members of the Legislative Assembly, or when a speaker from the United Workers Union spoke favourably of Yvette Berry, the ALP education minister, they were met with silence from an otherwise enthusiastic crowd.
But the frustration was about more than the enterprise agreement negotiations. The main grievances were about working conditions, echoing the grievances of teachers across the country. Chronic understaffing means teachers regularly take split and merged classes of more than 50 students. And teachers routinely have to take on more work, and work overtime. No wonder there were frequent mentions of burnout and high staff turnover in schools.
There has also been a rise in workplace violence against teachers, which is related to the understaffing and lack of support. A school psychologist at the protest said he worked across two schools in one week—two days at one school, three days at another—with 1,100 students to one psychologist. Another point of frustration was the position of learning support assistants (LSAs). Andrew related:
“They’re gonna be put anywhere. LSAs at my workplace can work in student support, but they can also work in technical support in the art department, or they can work in admin, at the front of the school, as receptionists ... and they deal with students with the highest needs.”
Despite this, LSAs are among the lowest paid public servants in the ACT, and receive minimal training. This was the first time support staff went on strike alongside teachers. And they received solidarity from the teachers, too. When an LSA went up to address the protest, the crowd started chanting, “LSA! LSA!” while a section started up a new variation: “Hey, hey, LSAs, we have got your back today!”
Less than a week later, the union leaders announced there would be no further strikes, after they received an offer from the government. Considering there has been no substantial increase in the recent budget for public education, it is difficult to see how the government would be willing to address the concerns of teachers.
“It is not the first choice of the union [leaders] to strike. It was absolutely the last resort, despite it being our strongest weapon”, Andrew said. The fight cannot end here for a deal that could genuinely improve the conditions for our teachers.
