An extra 95 specialist teachers will be recruited to address teacher workload, in a new agreement proposed by the state government to the education union.
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Industrial action in the education sector has been steadily increasing over the past couple of months, as the AEU ramps up its efforts to gain a pay rise and measures to address teacher workload and class sizes.
The union has urged its members to stop completing comments on reports and to also stop inputting attendance data into a central Education Department system as part of its industrial action.
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Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said the government put the new offer on the table, which includes the existing pay rise offer of 6 per cent over three years, and the pledge for 95 additional specialist teachers, during negotiations with the AEU on Wednesday.
“The offer will also include a plan to reduce teacher contact hours by recruiting 95 additional specialist teachers, on top of the 250 extra teachers we have already committed to recruit,” he said.
This offer is on top of the extra 250 teachers the government has already begun recruiting for, which will be placed across Tasmania over the next six years.
The extra teachers are expected to address workload by reducing contact hours and will see specialist maths, science and sports teachers returned to Tasmania’s public schools.
“The AEU's claims that we are not negotiating are simply not true. The government has continued to negotiate on improved employment conditions and arrangements with union representatives in good faith throughout the negotiation period,” Mr Rockliff said.
It’s believed there is another wage negotiation meeting scheduled between the government and the AEU for Thursday, November 15.
The Australian Education Union state branch announced on Tuesday it would hold morning stop-work meetings in the North and North-West on November 27 and in the South a day later, which would mean school would need to start at 10.30am.
Schools were closed early last month for union members to participate in stop work rallies across the state.
Thousands of public servants from across a number of sectors were represented at the rallies as the unions increased their “Tassie needs a pay rise” campaign.
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