For everyone Enough is enough: TAFE teachers take stopwork action
TAFE teachers are stepping up their action for a better agreement through a series of bans and limitations escalating to a 24-hour stopwork in August.
In May, teachers working in Victoria’s 12 standalone TAFE institutes voted to escalate industrial action due to the state government’s failure to put a decent offer on the table.
TAFE members have begun a series of stopwork actions, escalating to a planned 24-hour statewide stopwork on 21 August. They have also added a ban on attending meetings to the list of bans and limitations on work in place since April, alongside other campaign actions such as ‘Wear Red Wednesdays’.
This industrial action follows two years of agreement negotiations in which the government has not budged from its basic offer of a 3% annual wage increase over four years. It is also trying to increase workloads by removing in-class assessment from teaching hours. There is no provision for further professional development or the recognition of teaching qualifications.
“TAFE teachers are fed up with the inaction of the Allan Labor government,” said Meredith Peace, AEU Victorian branch president, following the vote. “TAFE teachers are burning out, and too many are leaving the sector to return to industry, where they can be paid more without the added stress and heavy workloads they’re currently dealing with.”
TAFE teachers’ action comes amid ongoing skills shortages across Victoria, both in education and in other industries.
“Without TAFE teachers, Victoria will not address the skills shortage. It’s time the government recognised the vital role TAFE teachers play in the community and put an agreement on the table that properly acknowledges their contribution to Victoria’s economy,” says Meredith.
“TAFEs are required to deliver high-quality teaching and learning, but the Allan government has failed to recognise those who deliver the courses – TAFE teachers.”
“Without TAFE teachers there is no TAFE.”
Meredith Peace
Experienced TAFE teachers are now paid almost $8000 less than similarly experienced teachers in schools. Along with wages that value their work, which would help retain and attract teachers in TAFE, teachers are seeking better recognition and support for teaching qualifications, and improved access to professional development.
Victoria’s TAFEs remain the lowest funded in the country, despite the boost in places due to state and federal ‘Free TAFE’ initiatives. As it stands, government funding does not even cover the basic costs of course delivery. In the latest State of our TAFEs survey, more than 88% of Victorian TAFE teachers had experienced an increase in workload since the introduction of fee-free TAFE places.
As a result, TAFE teachers are being asked to teach the same material in fewer teaching hours, with more than half of all classes increasing in size in the past two years. This has led to teachers working more than their contracted hours – often as unpaid overtime – with some TAFEs also trying to remove in-class assessment from teaching hours, further increasing workloads.
The single interest agreement secured last year gives members in TAFE the ability to take protected industrial action to advance their claims.
“The Allan government has repeatedly promised to save TAFE, yet their failure to come to the table and fairly negotiate shows they’ve turned their backs on TAFE teachers,” says Meredith.
“The power of the collective action of teachers to effect change was demonstrated during the successful campaign for a single interest agreement. Now we will show the state government just how determined TAFE teachers are in the fight for a fair agreement. Without TAFE teachers there is no TAFE.”
