The biggest teachers’ strike in the state’s history on 24 March saw 35,000 teachers take to the streets—and shut 500 schools down (Photo: aeuvic/Facebook)
Members of the Australian Education Union (AEU) in Victoria voted in favour of an offer on Monday, securing a pay rise of up to 32.4 percent over four years.
Lucy, a teacher and activist in the education workers’ union, told Socialist Worker that the pay rise was won because of members taking action. But this was action taken against the leadership.
Ordinary members of the union built the biggest teachers’ strike in the state’s history on 24 March. Some 35,000 teachers took to the streets—and over 500 schools were closed.
However, at every stage Lucy explained the union leadership tried to undermine the most militant campaigns from taking action and pushing the government for a better deal.
She explained that what has been agreed, while promising long-term wage growth, fails to tackle the crisis facing Australia’s schools.
“Our main demands were not won,” said Lucy. “There was nothing about tackling class sizes, nothing about reducing face-to-face teaching time or about education support staff getting paid lunch breaks.
“The Victorian government was playing hard from the beginning. They were committed to giving the lowest possible deal.”
She argued that a fearmongering campaign led by the union leadership against rank-and-file members taking independent action demoralised members.
“Sub-branches in schools were organising their own stop-work actions themselves during school days or holding protests after work.
“These were so galvanising for members. They really felt that they had the power to put the boot in to the government.
“A union member said to me, ‘we should be doing this every week,’ and they were right—we should have been.
“But members were told by officials that these actions could put the union in legal jeopardy.
“The union officials were so spooked by the more militant actions by the rank-and-file members.
“And that pressure to stop any action that broke out of the business as usual shackles wore people down.
“The members have supported this deal but the mood is that we could have won more.”
As teachers have voted to accept the deal, members in AEU are now not legally allowed to strike for another four years.
“There are members who are not sure they can work under these conditions until then,” said Lucy.
“But we are not going to stop fighting. And we’ve learned a lot of important lessons from this strike to form a nucleus around next time.”
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