Members of the Queensland Teachers’ Union have rejected a proposed pay deal that would have lifted teacher salaries above $100,000 a year by the end of 2028.
The state government recently offered teachers a three-year 8 per cent pay rise, which would have seen every state school teacher would earn a six-figure salary within three years.
It also promised a new safety taskforce to deal with violence in classrooms.
But Queensland Education Minister Mr John-Paul Langbroek said on 31 October the “historic deal” put forward by the union and the Department of Education through a conciliation process was rejected.
“While this is disappointing, I respect the process and will continue to engage with Queensland teachers,” he said.
“This deal would have seen every teacher in a classroom paid over $100,000 by the end of the agreement and while it now falls to the QTU to explain why this deal was not accepted, the government will now start progressing to arbitration within the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission to ensure we can reach an agreement.
The 51,500-member QTU said its members had “spoken clearly at the ballot, convincingly rejecting” the government’s offer.
“Using the union’s transparent, democratic processes, members have voted – just under 29,000 votes with 32.4% in favour and 67.6% against – to send a clear message to the Crisafulli government,” the union said in a statement.
“The QTU has said from the outset of negotiations, serious reform is needed to address the teacher shortage crisis, occupational violence and aggression and reduce crippling workload.
“Clearly the majority of members don’t believe the government’s offer will achieve this and have voted accordingly.”
The QTU State Council met in Brisbane on 1 November to discuss next steps.
