Major pay boost locked in for Victorian teachers, strike action called off

Victorian teachers have called off a statewide strike after voting in favour of a pay offer worth up to 32 per cent over four years.

The move scraps a planned 24-hour strike on Wednesday, ending months of industrial action following walkouts in March and July.

Almost eight in 10 Australian Education Union members voted to accept the Victorian government’s latest offer, which will deliver pay rises of between 28.3 and 32.4 per cent for teachers, principals and education support staff.

It also includes a $2000 lump-sum payment.

An experienced teacher earning $118,063 will see their salary jump by $15,393 this year, reaching $151,419 by 2029.

Early-career teachers will receive an extra $12,343 by October, bringing their pay into line with their NSW counterparts.

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All teachers will receive a pay rise of at least 13.04 per cent this year, followed by annual increases of between 4 and 4.9 per cent through to 2029.

Education support staff and school leaders will receive increases of at least 28.3 per cent over four years.

The offer also includes fewer meetings and four professional practice days each year.

The agreement follows the rejection of a June government offer, which 58 per cent of education staff voted down despite union recommendation.

Swinburne University of Technology education expert Melinda Davis said better pay for education support staff was central to the latest deal.

“If pay were the only issue, it would have been resolved in an earlier offer, where teachers would have received more,” she said.

“A key change is the inclusion of better wages for education support staff, who were excluded from previous government offers.”

But Davis said the agreement could now have financial consequences for other Victorian schools, with the Catholic sector committed to matching the government’s wage outcome and independent schools also likely to face calls for higher pay.

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“The next question is how will those sectors will fund it?” she said.

“If the government does not commit to funding all schools, there is a risk that they will be handing the problem to parents through higher school fees.

“All roads lead back to government funding, in each sector.”

The agreement will now go to a vote of all employees, as required under the Fair Work Act.