School strike: Door left open for larger wage rises for teachers as Rita Saffioti urges union back to table

Treasurer Rita Saffioti has left the door open to a higher wage rise for teachers, ahead of the first educator strike in a decade planned for Tuesday morning. Repeating Government concerns that there was “no need” to strike, Ms Saffioti refused to be drawn on whether the “fair” wage offer of an 11 per cent raise over three years was the last to come from Government. The teachers union has already rejected two offers from the Government, remaining steadfast on its bid for a 12 per cent salary increase over two years. More than 80 public schools across the State will either be closed or partially closed when teachers take industrial action on Tuesday, the first time in 10 years. Twenty-two schools will be forced to close completely for half a day because they will not have enough teachers onsite to supervise. Asked whether there was room to move on the pay rise, Ms Saffioti said: “That will be subject to further discussions with the Minister for Industrial Relations and the Premier but we believe the offer on the table is a fair one.” “We’re managing a very, very hot budget in relation to population growth, we’ve got significant demands on our budget, and we want to make sure that we need to continue to balance the budget, but also deliver fair wage deals.” Ms Saffioti said the negotiations, which she described as positive, were not just about pay rises. “The key message from all the unions was ‘we want wages growth, but we want you to seriously look at our conditions’, and we are seriously looking at your conditions. So you don’t need to strike,” Ms Saffioti said. “What we’ve got on the table is more assistance in the classroom. We’ve got that on the table. So we’re acknowledging that we can always do more and that’s what we’re putting on the table. “We went into these wage negotiations in good faith — we put a set of dollars on the table and for the first time for many years, the workforce and the unions have been able to negotiate not only the wages, but the conditions.” Ms Saffioti said parents should work with their children’s schools ahead of the half day strike, planned for Tuesday morning. “I suspect there’ll be further communication from the Department of Education later today. Work with what your school is offering,” she said. “For parents like me, we’re always juggling everything. So that’s what happens. Everyday is a juggle to be honest.”