By Charlene Gatt
TAFE teachers from Victoria University’s (VU) Footscray campuses will take to the streets tomorrow to demand better pay and working conditions.
Rob Stewart, deputy vice-president for TAFE and Adult Provision, met TAFE teachers at Footscray’s Nicholson St campus last Thursday and said an “overwhelming” number of teachers had pledged to take action.
Mr Stewart anticipates that the Nicholson St site will be shut.
“They’re very angry that they’re being treated with such contempt by this government,” he said. “It’s just disgraceful.
“We want parity with school teachers in terms of salary, which has basically been the case for forever and a day.”
Mr Stewart said there was a $13,000 discrepancy in pay between top school teachers and top TAFE teachers.
VU teachers will join TAFE teachers from all over Victoria in a rally at Melbourne’s Athenaeum before marching to Parliament House in the first union-endorsed strike since 1995.
The Australian Education Union (AEU) TAFE Council sanctioned the 24-hour strike after negotiations with the State Government had stalled.
A recent “State of our TAFEs” report said nearly three-quarters of respondents had considered leaving their jobs in the past 12 months.
A total 28 per cent of respondents listed pay levels as a prime concern in their job, while excessive administration duties and teaching workload ranked second and third.
Mr Stewart said TAFE teachers were keen to have their voices heard after primary and secondary school teachers received their desired outcome through industrial action this year.
“This is a campaign that we intend to win and we won’t take no for an answer,” he said.
VU Deputy Vice-Chancellor Richard Carter said the university was “disappointed that negotiations had stalled”, and called the strike “regrettable”.
