Victoria schools shut down as thousands of public schoolteachers begin historic first-strike-in-13-years over pay dispute
Thousands of Victorian teacher, principal, support workers are striking for the very first time in 14 years to protest a rejected offer that would have increased their salaries by only about seven per cent rather than seventeen percent as promised earlier this year; while Premier Daniel Andrews has pleaded with educators not to walk off work and classes at roughly five hundred public schools remain cancelled, union leaders insist they are striking because teachers feel disrespected.
Key Points
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1Thousands of Victorian teachers and support staff are striking for the first time in 13 years due to a pay dispute with state government.
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2The Australian Education Union is demanding at least an additional $20,465 over four years (equivalent to roughly one-third more than current offers).
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3Premier Jacinta Allan has pleaded on multiple occasions for teachers not to strike but the union remains adamant about proceeding with industrial action.
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4School closures are expected across Victoria and Tasmania as tens of thousands educators walk off their jobs.
Developments
Thousands of public education staff are striking across Victoria over pay and conditions, leading to class halts in up to 500 schools despite government assurances that most institutions would remain open with limited supervision. The rally saw approximately half the union's members gather at Parliament after a Fair Work Commission approval for their first strike since more than thirteen years ago due to staffing shortages caused by interstate migration driven by higher pay elsewhere.
Tens of thousands of public schools staff across Victoria will strike this week, while Tasmania also joins the walkout. The dispute centers on teacher demands for significant pay raises and workload improvements following nine months of negotiations with the Victorian government's offer to increase salaries by 17% over several years but make limited changes to working conditions.