Industrial Action on 5th September

[RTandon]

If I was in Year 7-11, I would be so so so happy about teachers going on strike but being in Year 12 and the fact that my folio is due in less than two weeks and my garment is due this Friday, and I really need my teacher to be there when I need her.

I am really annoyed. Why must this strike be at such an inconvenient time? WHY.

[sandaygirl]

aha im annoyed that i have to go to school (only 7-10 get the day of )

[Stick]

Because it makes a profound statement to the State Government.

A lot of the teachers at my school are also striking this Wednesday, so Years 8-12 have been told not to come to school. My sister's school is hiring an entire team of relief staff for the day, while other schools are not participating at all. From what I've heard, this has not been approved by the union and staff members are at risk of receiving a $6000 fine. Hence, individual teachers at my school have not been able to say whether or not they're participating in the political protest. Perhaps this is just the Catholic Education Network. :S

[paulsterio]

If I was in Year 7-11, I would be so so so happy about teachers going on strike but being in Year 12 and the fact that my folio is due in less than two weeks and my garment is due this Friday, and I really need my teacher to be there when I need her.

I am really annoyed. Why must this strike be at such an inconvenient time? WHY.

It's because Victorian teachers deserve better pay. It's not your teacher's fault, it's the state govt's - Victorian teachers are amongst the lowest paid in Australia, i.e. they are at the bottom of a pile of already underpaid professionals. Teaching is a difficult, important and central profession to the future of our country and I agree - they deserve a higher salary than what they get now.

[Kanon]

I know that feel, it is a pretty big annoyance.  Perhaps you could try to oraganise something with your teacher? I have no clue on the procedures of a folio, but can you structure your next week so that you get all the advice you need from your teacher on every day but Tuesday and do all of the work you can do independantly on Wednesday?

If it makes you feel any better, 7/11 is having a BYO slurpee cup on that Wednesday

[Stick]

So who else got the day off today? I was speaking to one of the more friendly/outgoing staff members yesterday and he said most of the teachers were just looking forward to going to the pub for lunch. :| So comforting to know that I'm getting a day off for that. -.-

[Ravit]

I have a day off as well.
It helps my cause, due to the internal exams I have in 2 weeks!

[CaiTheHuman]

The teachers demands are unreasonable though, it would be almost impossible to implement those reforms they want due to budget constraints. If the teachers get their demands, what about the rest of us. What about the services provided by the government, it's going to have to come from somewhere since the Government has to cut even more fat to provide for their unsustainable demands.

The Federal Government has already cut at least $1 Billion dollars worth of GST distribution to Victoria. The Ballieu Government has already copped the extra cut for seriously under-paying public service workers(teachers, nurses and etc) compared to other states.

We can all agree that Victorian Teachers are all underpaid, but how much more do you want. You can't expect your employer to just give you a 20 to 30% raise over a limited time frame. It would seriously drain away resources on other necessities required at a school (Infrastructure, I.T, Electricity, Books, Stationery and etc". Do we want better paid teachers or better quality education ?.

[Stick]

My teachers have said that they're not even protesting about the pay - it's about the new scheme which rewards the teachers who teach the best-performing students.

[Hodgeyhodgey]

What exactly is the median salary for a public teacher? Would it differ to private and TAFE providers?

[paulsterio]

What exactly is the median salary for a public teacher? Would it differ to private and TAFE providers?

It's around 69,000, although once you're teaching VCE, you should be looking for around 74,000. This is for public schools.

Private school teachers aren't paid by the government, so the school decides what they are paid - it is usually higher - but it is more difficult to find a job at a private school.

TAFE - I have no idea!

[CaiTheHuman]

What exactly is the median salary for a public teacher? Would it differ to private and TAFE providers?

It's around 69,000, although once you're teaching VCE, you should be looking for around 74,000. This is for public schools.

Private school teachers aren't paid by the government, so the school decides what they are paid - it is usually higher - but it is more difficult to find a job at a private school.

TAFE - I have no idea!

At RMIT TAFE, which provides VCE. Teachers are represented by a different union and are generally paid higher than most public schools teachers as they have to deal with a huge excess of Low-SES Students, coupled with a lot of troubled students. Almost a quarter of the the kids who go here only do so for just a year 12 pass.

[IndefatigableLover]

I just had a quick browse on Google News and it looks like teachers might want to work 38 hour weeks if they don't get their payrise :/ (Trust good old Aussie newspapers ) 38 Hour Weeks. If the government end up giving in and give the teachers a 30% pay rise that they want, then it'll cost the government $14 billion. $14 Billion

Yes I do know that these are newspapers and not verifiable as such but if we imagine if each one were true.. then disaster.
Though tomorrow I'm going to ask my teachers and see how they felt about their strike and whether or not they'll take further action since it is disrupting mine and everybody else's learning time. >.<

[CaiTheHuman]

I just had a quick browse on Google News and it looks like teachers might want to work 38 hour weeks if they don't get their payrise :/ (Trust good old Aussie newspapers ) 38 Hour Weeks. If the government end up giving in and give the teachers a 30% pay rise that they want, then it'll cost the government $14 billion. $14 Billion

Yes I do know that these are newspapers and not verifiable as such but if we imagine if each one were true.. then disaster.
Though tomorrow I'm going to ask my teachers and see how they felt about their strike and whether or not they'll take further action since it is disrupting mine and everybody else's learning time. >.<

Got to love the Murdoch Press, *ahem not really*. The Union has said to expect further disruptions next school term.

[ninwa]

Alright. By request, I've removed all the vitriol that was in this thread. Hopefully we can get a more civil discussion going on.