Unions protest prep school hours cutback

BRISBANE — On April 4, about 1000 teacher aides and teachers attended protest meetings in Brisbane and 12 Queensland regional centres jointly organised organised by the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (representing teachers' aides) and the Queensland Teachers Union.

The meetings unanimously carried resolutions that there should be no less than two teachers' aides for 25 children at all times to maintain children's safety and to help effectively deliver the curriculum.

The state Labor government is planning to reduce the number of teachers' aide hours for prep classes from 30 hours to 15 hours a week.

At the Brisbane meeting, attended by 300 teachers' aides and 150 teachers, members questioned the union officials' tactics of negotiating from a "fall-back" position by asking the state government to allocate 25 hours for the second term instead of the usual 30.

Andrew Martin

From Green Left Weekly, April 13, 2005.

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From GLW issue 622