Teachers demand new pay offer
By Bill Mason
BRISBANE — Around 120 angry teachers marched on the Broadbeach office of Queensland education minister Bob Quinn on May 21, as thousands of Gold Coast teachers held a 24-hour stoppage to demand better pay and an end to the state government's Leading Schools program.
The strike was part of a statewide campaign of rolling stoppages by the Queensland Teachers Union which ended on May 22 with walkouts on the Sunshine Coast and Darling Downs.
QTU south coast region organiser Louise Comino told a meeting of 400 striking teachers on May 21: "We must resist these radical and negative changes to state schools ... and fight for a fair rate of pay. There is still overwhelming support for our campaign."
The teachers called for the sacking of Quinn and criticised school principals who had volunteered for the Leading Schools program, which involves local control of schools, including the option of swapping teacher salary dollars for scarce resources.
The QTU is demanding an improvement on the government's pay offer of 12.5% over three years. The teachers have also voted in favour of new ballots to decide on more strike action if the dispute is not settled by July 28.