Victorian teachers to strike
By Norrian Rundle
MELBOURNE — The Victorian branch of the Australian Education Union has called a mass stop-work on February 27 as part of a campaign to win back funding for public education.
The campaign started with a statewide stoppage on November 21, after the Victorian government announced another round of cuts in October. The cuts targeted 113 schools for closure or reorganisation, and removed another 600 teachers from the state system.
The AEU leadership called the November stoppage reluctantly, promoting it as a protest. The official motion simply condemned the cuts and called for a community and political campaign; it did not mention industrial action.
However, teachers wanted to take direct action to defend their schools. An amendment from the floor, calling for a half-day stoppage in December and rolling stoppages in February, culminating in a further mass stop-work in March, was passed by an 80% vote, despite the opposition of key officials.
In the weeks that followed, the leadership undermined the December stop-work. At the December state council meeting, a motion rendering the action optional was narrowly passed. This dramatically reduced participation.
A rally organised by the north-west region campaign committee was the only action that took place, apart from some letterboxing. The rally, however, was very successful, and included speakers from parent and community groups.
Since December, the branch has launched a campaign for a 17% wage increase. Some members fear that the leadership wants to keep the wages campaign separate from the public education campaign.
The central issue is the funding of state education. Improved funding would return teachers to the system, stop further school closures and pay for a wage increase.
Recent victories by SA teachers and support staff show that success can be achieved by a well-thought-out campaign that calls for the funding of state education and includes involvement by rank-and-file members, local actions and cooperation with local school communities, as well as mass stop-works to build solidarity and strength.