The Canberra Liberals will call today for a Fair Work Ombudsman review of ACT teacher pay and conditions, particularly in light of possible ‘wage theft’.
“In the recent survey by the Australian Education Union, I was shocked to see that nearly all respondents (97 per centsaid they work more than their maximum weekly hours, including weekends, evenings, periods of leave or stand down,” said Shadow Education Minister, Jeremy Hanson said he was “shocked” by the Australian Education Union ACT’s survey, published in August, which said ACT teachers were “under-staffed, under-resourced, and under-appreciated”.
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Ninety-seven per cent of the 1,800 teachers and principals surveyed revealed they worked unpaid overtime every week – more than 40 per cent of them two days or more: 10 or more hours, and even more hours when weekend work is included, Mr Hanson noted. Teachers spent $5 million of their own money on classroom materials and resources.
The AEU report concluded: “The harsh reality is that ACT public school teachers subsidise the ACT Government’s spending on education to the tune of at least $75 million every year on salaries alone.”
“In any other industry, this could be called wage theft,” Mr Hanson said.
“Of all the workers in the ACT system, the last who should be subject to these sorts of work practices are our teachers.”
Mr Hanson called calling on the ACT Government to report the salaries, working conditions, and underpayments of ACT teachers to the Fair Work Ombudsman for review. If the review showed teachers worked unpaid overtime or otherwise subsidise the ACT government, Mr Hanson said the teachers must be compensated.
“The Fair Work Ombudsman is the right place to judge this desperate situation and provide an impartial assessment.”.
In response to the report’s findings, the ACT Government set up a taskforce in August. At the time, Mr Hanson told Canberra Daily that the taskforce must be “more than window dressing”, and that the ACT Government must adequately resource the education system.
