The Australian Education Union (AEU) have delivered a Santa sack with over 2000 Christmas Grinch campaign postcards to Premier Will Hodgman’s office in Kingston.
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Each card carries a personal message written by teachers, principals and support staff stating what they want for Christmas in terms of employment and pay conditions.
AEU president Helen Richardson said her members felt strongly about expressing their concerns through these personalised postcards to Mr Hodgman.
“It’s the personal messages that are really powerful,” Ms Richardson said.
Ms Richardson said that concerns from members includes wanting smaller classroom sizes, recognition for the complexity of the role including an average of 11 – 12 hours of unpaid overtime done by teachers each week, and improved conditions and security for teaching assistants.
“Teaching assistants play such an important role. The average teaching assistant salary is $25,000,” she said.
“We need support and resources in classrooms to deliver quality education every child deserves.”
The AEU is holding an executive meeting on Friday to discuss their response to the state government’s latest offer and to decide on their next steps.
