Frustration over a new pay deal has reached boiling point among TAFE teachers, with more than 100 to walk off the job.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The teachers from Victoria's 12 standalone TAFEs will rally at meetings across the state on Wednesday, including outside the electorate offices of premier Jacinta Allan and TAFE minister Gayle Tierney.
The stop-work action is the second in as many months called by the Australian Education Union, amid stalled pay negotiations with the state government and TAFE employers.
"We have been at the negotiating table for more than two years trying to get a decent pay and conditions deal that addresses our concerns for TAFE," the union's Victorian branch president Meredith Peace said.
"But time and time again, the Allan Labor government has failed to put an offer on the table."
In a union survey of 490 Victorian TAFE teachers published in June, 78.7 per cent reported a teacher shortage in their area or department.
Two out of three (69.3 per cent) had considered leaving their job in the past 12 months and more than half (53.1 per cent) said their class sizes had increased over the previous two years.
Ms Peace said TAFE teachers were leaving the profession in droves and those that remain don't not have the time, resources, equipment and facilities required to support students.
"TAFE teachers are burnt-out and fed up with the inaction of this state government, who 10 years ago, promised that they would save TAFE in Victoria," she said.
"Instead, our TAFEs have been the lowest funded in the country for nine of the last ten years, and we have a shortage of TAFE teachers that will only get worse unless real action is taken.
"Without TAFE teachers, Premier Allan cannot fix skill shortages."
TAFE teachers are prepared to walk off the job for 24 hours in August if Ms Allan and Ms Tierney don't put a decent offer on the table, she added.
VICTORIA'S 12 STANDALONE TAFES:
* Bendigo/Kangan (BKI)
* Box Hill
* Chisholm
* GO TAFE
* Holmesglen
* Melbourne Polytechnic
* TAFE Gippsland
* The Gordon
* South West TAFE
* Suni TAFE
* William Angliss
* Wodonga TAFE
Australian Associated Press
