BY SUE BULL
MELBOURNE — Across Australia, 100,000 teachers poured out of their schools throughout Australia on September 17 in the biggest teacher action that has ever taken place in this country, and the biggest single-profession national strike in Australia's history.
The Australian Education Union (AEU) called its first nationwide action in reaction to collusion between Labor state governments designed to keep teachers' wage increases to no more than the CPI — about 3% per year. However, teachers were also protesting about looming teacher shortages, contract employment, massive workloads and large class sizes.
In NSW, more than 50,000 stopped work, closing 800 schools. In Victoria, 110 schools and preschools were closed by 25,000 strikers, and in 40 schools, the numbers taking industrial action exceeded the number of union members. In Western Australia, some 15,000 walked off the job. Several other states also held more limited protest actions.
In Victoria, 8000-9000 primary, secondary and kindergarten teachers joined with principals and school support officers at the Vodafone Arena in perhaps the biggest meeting of educators ever in this state. They cheered and whistled as Mary Bluett, Victorian AEU president, congratulated the meeting and welcomed the 1000 union members who had joined in the previous 16 days. Bluett said, "Today you are part of history."
Bluett explained how the last Victorian teachers strike was five years ago, after the then-Liberal state government slashed 8000 teachers from the system. She called on the state ALP government, led by Premier Steve Bracks, to address teacher shortages, provide teacher scholarships for rural schools and to re-invest in public education.
Bluett also called on the Bracks government to demand from the federal government an increase in the numbers of student-teacher placements at universities. Victoria has the lowest percentage of student-teacher university places in the country. Meanwhile, it has the highest experienced-teacher exit rate.
In the motion condemning the state governments, deputy president Ann Taylor received a huge ovation when she blasted the prevalence of contract teaching in Victoria. She said, "I know of one teacher who is just about due for long service leave after being on contract for 10 years ... (and) another who has had seven different contracts in seven different schools."
The meeting also called for further action next year if there was no new industrial agreement for the 2004 school year — which seems very likely. A motion protesting current and further education cuts was also endorsed. The meeting then marched through the gardens to protest outside the Treasury Buildings.
Teachers had been bused in to Melbourne from Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong and the Gippsland. Eight-hundred teachers also gathered in regional meetings at Mildura, Albury/Wodonga, Echuca and Warnambool.
The strike has caused a stir among teachers, parents and students. Significant numbers of parents have been very supportive when writing to the newspapers or on talk back radio. Bluett mentioned that a survey in NSW showed that 68% of people support pay increases for teachers.
The frustration felt by many was aptly summed up by columnist Kenneth Davidson in The Age on September 18. In an article titled "Steve Bracks has pulled a swifty over education funding" Davidson noted, "Parents whose children rely on the public education system should be on the side of the teachers. Teaching is badly paid, stressful and involves long hours in correction and preparation.
"Unless the three governments (Victoria, NSW and WA) can persuade parents to cop larger class sizes or more face-to-face teaching hours for teachers (ie the trashing of the public education system), the logic of the supply demand equation means teachers must win this confrontation over the immediate issue of pay.
"But this should only be a beginning. Instead of combining to screw teacher unions, the states should be introducing a studentship scheme like the post-war version, which operated until the late 1960s. Students were reimbursed fees and given a living allowance to complete a degree and teacher training in return for teaching anywhere in the state for three years after graduation."
Earlier in his article Davidson had commented, "I can't think of any better investment for the future than teachers, teacher training and education infrastructure. In a rational society there would be no contest between using tax revenue to finance an under-resourced education system and playing the sharemarket."
Similar sentiments were expressed in the Teachers Alliance leaflet handed out at the Melbourne meeting and quoted on ABC radio. The Teachers Alliance is a grassroots group of teachers committed to rebuilding a democratic, campaigning AEU.
The leaflet said, " In a little over a year's time we could be facing the biggest teacher shortage many of us have ever seen. One third of teachers are not far off retirement, 43% of beginning teachers are uncertain about whether they'll stay in the industry and [Victorian] student teacher enrolments are the lowest proportionally in the country. Those of us left will be expected to take larger classes, greater teaching loads and increased responsibility.
"Meanwhile minister Kosky assures us that the future looks rosy with her new 'reform agenda'. Of course most of us are not fooled. There are too many rumours of losing more holiday time, linking pay to student outcomes, flexible hours that favour the department not teachers and increasing secondary face-to-face teaching hours. This might partially address the looming teacher shortage in their minds but who'll stay? We're all exhausted!"
From Green Left Weekly, September 24, 2003.
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