Education workers rally for wages and conditions

By Adam Hanieh

ADELAIDE — More than 7000 education workers packed Victoria Park Racecourse on March 13 in an unprecedented show of anger over the state Liberal government's refusal to grant a wage rise and negotiate workload conditions.

The action, the first full-day strike since 1981, marked another step forward in the campaign by the South Australian Institute of Teachers to achieve a federal award. The action was supported by 75% of SAIT members, and forced more than 425 schools to close.

SAIT president Janet Giles described state education minister Rob Lucas' claims that the action would disrupt year 12 students as "hypocritical" because his government had cut more than $60 million from the education budget, 250 school service officer positions and more than 400 teacher positions in the last four years.

The rally came after more than two weeks of attempts to negotiate a draft enterprise bargaining agreement; 96% of SAIT members voted against the government's offer. The government attempted to prevent the strike going ahead by calling for the state Industrial Relations Commission to intervene.

A compromise proposal from the Public Service Association and SAIT presented to the IRC was rejected by the government. The IRC refused to call off the rally and recommended that the government immediately begin negotiations without setting preconditions regarding state or federal jurisdiction over awards. The government has refused to consider SAIT's attempts to secure a federal award.

Rolling stoppages had been planned over the next month. However, the IRC demanded that SAIT drop these plans.

From GLW issue 224