QLD: Teachers prepare to fight for better pay

AAP General News (Australia)
04-08-2009
QLD: Teachers prepare to fight for better pay

BRISBANE, April 8 AAP - Queensland teachers are gearing up to fight for a better pay
deal as they negotiate a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA).

Queensland Teachers' Union president Steve Ryan said industrial action was "a real
possibility" if negotiations with the state government stall.

Mr Ryan said Queensland teachers' pay was among the lowest in Australia, with senior
teachers earning $7,000 less than their NSW counterparts.

"As the current teaching workforce ages and retires, new teachers will not be attracted
to the ranks because the Queensland pay is simply too low in comparison to other states,"

he said on Wednesday.

"As a result, there will soon be a chronic shortage of classroom teachers and such
an outcome would have dire consequences for the social, economic and education future
of this allegedly smart state."

Nearly 4,000 teachers across the state have voted to support the QTU's campaign to lift pay.

The current teacher EBA expires on April 30.

AAP ng/pjo/ldj

KEYWORD: TEACHERS QLD

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