Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Australian Education Union’s Michelle Ayers believes many Territory teachers will move interstate at the end of the year if they don’t secure a pay rise

Transcript

Australian Education Union’s Michelle Ayers believes many Territory teachers will move interstate at the end of the year if they don’t secure a pay rise · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What we do know is that throughout this week or yesterday,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: we learned that eighty six percent of teachers voted on
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory government's latest payoffer and have knocked it back.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Joining me on the line to tell us more is
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  Speaker 1: Michelle Airs from the Northern Territory Australian Education Unions Branch.
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  Speaker 1: She is indeed the president. Good morning to you, Michelle.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Michelle. What are teacher saying to you about this ballot
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  Speaker 1: that was rolled out and the reasons why eighty six
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  Speaker 1: percent of them have knocked it back?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think it's fairly clear with eighty six percent
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  Speaker 2: of a no vote that they are not interested in
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  Speaker 2: a wage free that there were several issues with that offer,
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  Speaker 2: and I think the last time I was on speaking
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  Speaker 2: to you we covered off on some of them, one
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  Speaker 2: of them being really didn't adjust for cost of living increases,
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  Speaker 2: but also there was just a lot of disparity across
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  Speaker 2: the wage the wage levels, and although the government gave
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: us some indications of the funding might be coming from,
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: there was still a lack of clarity around that and
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  Speaker 2: it just felt like a really rush thing. So safe
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  Speaker 2: to say the teachers they weren't a fan of this,
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  Speaker 2: and we at the union were right knock back.
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  Speaker 1: So Michelle, do you think that the message is getting
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  Speaker 1: through to the government.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I'd hope that it is, Katie. This is the
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  Speaker 2: second time that the teachers have voted. Really it's the
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  Speaker 2: third offer if you consider the first offer with one
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  Speaker 2: thousand dollars increases that the government increased that. You know
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  Speaker 2: they offered last year one thousand dollars bonuses, and then
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  Speaker 2: this year but ten thousand dollars worth of bonuses, and
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  Speaker 2: then now this new offer but still bonuses, but still
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  Speaker 2: a wage freeze. And yeah, if I was the government,
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: I'd be sitting there going, okay, we need to go
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  Speaker 2: back and look at our fiscal policy. Now it's obviously
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  Speaker 2: not working for our Northern Territory public service.
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  Speaker 1: So what's next from your perspective, From the union's perspective.
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  Speaker 2: That'll be a conversation with the government. There's very little
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  Speaker 2: that the OCPE, so the Commission of for Public Appointment,
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  Speaker 2: can do, unless cabinets choose to adjust the wage of policy. Really,
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  Speaker 2: it's the government policy and the OCPE is bound. So
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  Speaker 2: we put the ball in their court. They need to
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  Speaker 2: meet and I'd say that it's pretty critical that they
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  Speaker 2: do it soon because it's term three. Oh actually we're
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: on term three holiday. Yes, this is when teachers they've
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  Speaker 2: got a break from teaching and they're sitting down going
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  Speaker 2: where am I going to work next year? So we
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  Speaker 2: really need to see something happening here, and we need
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  Speaker 2: to see it happening fus.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, this is the thing, like you've just said, obviously,
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  Speaker 1: school holidays for kids and teachers at this point in time,
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  Speaker 1: and there needs to be some decisions made now. We
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  Speaker 1: had the Minister Paul Kirby on the show yesterday and
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  Speaker 1: you know, the government sort of keeps saying, look, we're
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  Speaker 1: we're at the table, we're discussing this with the different unions.
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  Speaker 1: We're talking about it, but it doesn't seem as though,
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  Speaker 1: you know, there's a conclusion that's sort of going to
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  Speaker 1: to come any time in a real hurry.
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  Speaker 2: Look again, the balls in their court. The thing that
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  Speaker 2: needs to change in order for us to see people
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  Speaker 2: paid properly in the Northern Territory and to have rates
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: of pay that will help us to attract and that's
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  Speaker 2: really the big thing right now. People are going to
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  Speaker 2: leave at this point from the Northern Territory. We don't
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  Speaker 2: know how many yet, but we always have a fairly
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  Speaker 2: high turnover at the end of the year. Right now,
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  Speaker 2: what the government needs to be sitting down and looking
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  Speaker 2: at is how are we going to staff classrooms next year?
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  Speaker 2: How are we going to attract new teachers here in
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  Speaker 2: the middle of this nationwide teacher shortage. And honestly, the
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  Speaker 2: answer is they need to sit down in their cabinet
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  Speaker 2: room and revise this pay free policy.
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  Speaker 1: Michelle, what is the worst that will happen if teachers
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  Speaker 1: don't secure what you deem fair pay.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a really good question, Katie. It's one of
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  Speaker 2: those it's difficult, difficult to really tell without seeing a
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: situation play out, but my guess would be that we'll
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  Speaker 2: see a great number of teachers leaving for jobs in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane,
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  Speaker 2: places where they're offering some pretty decent money now, money
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  Speaker 2: that wasn't on the table before, and there's jobs are plenty,
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  Speaker 2: and so what's going to happen is the government aren't,
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  Speaker 2: in my opinion, going to let classroom go without teachers,
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  Speaker 2: so it will end up costing the government more in
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  Speaker 2: the long run to then have to throw heaps more
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  Speaker 2: money on the table in order to attract people here,
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  Speaker 2: you know, in in emergency circumstances.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I mean this is the thing. The kids
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  Speaker 1: can't go back to school next year and not have teachers,
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  Speaker 1: so they're going to need to do something. And you know,
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  Speaker 1: the rest of us are already sort of like, if
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  Speaker 1: you're a parent, you're planning what school your kids are
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  Speaker 1: going to next year, if they're you know, if they're
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  Speaker 1: going up to middle school or high school and that
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  Speaker 1: kind of thing. So parents are already planning what they're
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  Speaker 1: doing for next year, no doubt. Teachers are starting to
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  Speaker 1: plan what they're going to do for next year. And
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  Speaker 1: I think the longer that these things sort of lingers,
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  Speaker 1: the harder it's going to get.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and look, the government have been the whole time
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  Speaker 2: making it about fiscal policy. Right, they want to build
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  Speaker 2: us Oh I can't remember the number, but certain billion
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  Speaker 2: dollar economy by twenty thirty. Well, I've been asking our
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  Speaker 2: teachers how many of you are currently teaching a child
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  Speaker 2: who's going to be in the workforce in twenty thirty.
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  Speaker 2: Like this is more than just about the here and
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  Speaker 2: now of the government can save some money we need
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  Speaker 2: to be looking at the long term consequences, and that's
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  Speaker 2: I speak from education. But those long term consequences come
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  Speaker 2: out of help, they come out of power, water, they
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  Speaker 2: come out of corrections and justice and all the other
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  Speaker 2: areas that are covered by our public service. And so
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  Speaker 2: it's really confusing to me that the government are sticking
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  Speaker 2: by this if we save a little bit of money now,
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  Speaker 2: we'll be able to build this strong economy, when it
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  Speaker 2: seems clearly obvious to me that if we don't have
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  Speaker 2: teachers in classrooms next year, we've got no hope of
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  Speaker 2: building a strong economy.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Michelle, as the President of the Northern Territories said,
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  Speaker 1: dedication Union, I really appreciate your time this morning. Please
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  Speaker 1: thank you very much for having a chat with us,
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  Speaker 1: and please keep us up to date as things progress.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Katie, thank you