Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Australian Education Union NT Branch President Michelle Ayres says teachers have been given a new pay offer which includes a 3 per cent pay rise over three years backdated to 2021

Transcript

Australian Education Union NT Branch President Michelle Ayres says teachers have been given a new pay offer which includes a 3 per cent pay rise over three years backdated to 2021 · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I was listening to question time yesterday as I do
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: when Parliament sits like I say, I do that so
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: you guys don't have to. And the Minister for Education
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: evil Or of yesterday confirmed in Parliament during question time
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: that a new offer has been put on the table
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: for Northern Territory teachers. Now, this offer would see a
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: three percent pay increase is my understanding, for the next
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: three years and back pay to October twenty twenty one.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: So the way that the Education Minister had worded it
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: on during question time yesterday is that it was a
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: three plus three plus three. So I'm keen to find
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: out exactly what this means and whether the Northern Territories
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: teachers are going to accept this offer. So again my
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: understanding is that that information is going to be sent
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: out to teachers today so that they've got a better
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: understanding of what the government is putting on the table
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: at this point in time, including that back pay, and
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: then whether the teachers move forward and decide to accept
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: that pay increase or whether they continue to sort of
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: to dig their heels in and try to seek a
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: better offer. But however you look at it, you would
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: have to suspect that they're keen to try and work
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: something out as the year draws to a close. There
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: is literally two weeks left of school. In some cases,
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: it's only a week left of school for some kids,
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  Speaker 1: and we all want to know what the situation is
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  Speaker 1: going to be from next year and whether the teachers
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: are going to be returning to school from next year.
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  Speaker 1: So joining me on the line right now to tell
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  Speaker 1: us a little bit more about this offer is the
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  Speaker 1: Education Unions Michelle Airs. Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Michelle, thanks so much for your time this morning. Now,
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: I was just saying that I was listening to question
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: time yesterday and heard the Minister for Education confirm during
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: Parliamentary question time that a new offer has been put
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: on the table for Northern Territory teachers. Michelle, what exactly
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: is this offer?
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: Okay, So what we're looking at is a three year
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  Speaker 2: offer that includes three percent per annum's salary increases. So
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: the teachers at this point are over eighteen months or
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: by the time this would be three of the eighteen
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: months overdue for a salary increase. The last time they
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: had a salary increase was in twenty twenty. Due to
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: the way free policy that we have, thank goodness, managed
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: to convince the government to do away with. So there
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: will be three years of three percent increases backdated to
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: twenty twenty one, which would include a three percent increase
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  Speaker 2: for October of twenty or any case yet after October
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  Speaker 2: of twenty twenty one, and a three percent increase after
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  Speaker 2: October of twenty twenty two, which had been an immediate
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: six percent jump in salaries for NT teachers, including full
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: back pay.
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  Speaker 1: Michelle, has this offer gone out to teachers or is
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: it when is it due to go out?
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: It went out today, so it's been out in an
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: access period for the last week from the OCPE, and
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: it is the important thing to note is that this
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  Speaker 2: isn't necessarily something that our union is endorsing. We have
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: worked with the government on it and we have tried
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: to put or tried to get as much in there
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: as possible for our teachers. We would have liked to
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: see more. We have a lot of hard working, burnt
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: out teachers in the Northern Territory and we would have
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: either liked to see more in salary, perhaps the cost
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: of living bonus or some relief of pressure on workloads. However,
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: that being said, we understand our contingent of teachers as well,
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  Speaker 2: who would just like to you know, get on with teaching,
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: receive their back pay, and move into twenty twenty three
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  Speaker 2: with a fresh start. So what we are, what we're
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  Speaker 2: saying as a union is that we would like out
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  Speaker 2: teachers to have the opportunity to you know, have their
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: voice in this. Rather than are taking a stance and
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: telling them how to vote, we would like them to
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: vote their conscience on this life. I definitely understand both physicians. Personally,
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  Speaker 2: I would ye like to see more for our hard
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: working teachers, but I understand for sure the people who
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: are like I'm just ready to move on from their
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: whole thing, well.
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  Speaker 1: And I reckon this is the right approach. I think,
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  Speaker 1: you know, let teachers decide, and like you said, there
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  Speaker 1: may be some who go, do you know what, this
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  Speaker 1: is good? I'm ready to move forward with this and
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: I'm happy with this offer. Michelle, you said that it
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: is going out today. How soon will we know whether
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  Speaker 1: teachers accept this offer or not?
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: Yees? So it's due to calling on the twelfth of December,
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  Speaker 2: so it really we've been cutting it fine. With the
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: end of the term. There but week ten for anyone
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  Speaker 2: who's not a parent or a teacher who counts weeks,
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: and yeah, that when pretty soon after that closes, will
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: have the data from the OCPE on where that's standing.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: That is certainly cutting it very fine. When it comes
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: to the end of the year, Michelle, what's going to happen?
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  Speaker 1: You know, I if this can't sort of be firmed
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: up by the year's end, and what do you think
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  Speaker 1: this deal says as we head into next year? Oh?
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: Well, that's anyone's best guest, Katie. Mine would be that
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: we are going to be in trouble in education next year.
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: We already are when it comes down to it. If
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: we want to look at why it's taken this long.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: Why did it take until, you know, the middle of
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: October almost to lose the wage freeze and for us
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: to go back to negotiating for this agreement. The government
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: had dragged their feet time and again. I would have
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: really liked the AU to be able to come out
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  Speaker 2: and strongly support and get our members on board rather
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: than having to ask them, you know, to vote. But
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: when it came down to the request we're putting forward,
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: the government just seemed and I under they're short on money.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: I understand the physical problem. However, I'm here to fight
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: for my teachers and what they deserve. And yeah, I
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: would have really liked to be proactively supporting this, but
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  Speaker 2: at the end of the day, it comes down to
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  Speaker 2: the government and their stance. And yeah, I'd really just
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: like to see more for our teachers.
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: Well, Michelle, we're very keen to hear exactly how teachers vote.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: Please keep us up to date, and thanks so much
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: for letting us know the ins and outs of that
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: later steal.
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: Thank you, Kate, thank you