Education workers score 'great win'
By Melanie SjobergADELAIDE â Following recommendations by the Industrial Relations Commission that the government release funds for extra staffing in schools and that the Australian Education Union lift its industrial action, teachers and school support staff have agreed not to strike.
The recommendation is a victory and means that an additional 1000 school staff will be employed. AEU president Janet Giles described it as a great win.
At the end of 1998, AEU members voted overwhelmingly to strike from the start of the 1999 school year if the government did not release $28 million budgeted for additional school staff. Instead of releasing the funds, the government tied the money to the outcome of negotiations for a new agreement.
Intense negotiations and a high-profile media campaign preceded the court decision. The government clearly felt vulnerable and attempted to gain support for its position with full-page newspaper advertisements and radio and TV promotion, as well as a glossy mail-out to all staff. The total cost of this propaganda exercise has been estimated at $160,000.
Discussions will now continue around the new enterprise agreement without the threat of excess workload hanging over the heads of school staff.