Australian Education Union Tasmania

A message from the AEU's Brian Wightman:

“I’m angry and upset about the Government’s education cuts in the State Budget and I know educators are too.

I wrote to the Education Minister Jo Palmer last night to express our collective outrage about her Government’s decision to cut $80 million from public education in the middle of this staffing crisis.

These cuts are not okay.

Psychological injury claims are skyrocketing (claims made by teachers have gone up 32% while they’ve gone up 40% for other educators) because of the short staffing and unmanageable workloads that’s creating.

The Minister is responsible for keeping you and your students safe, and I reminded her of that. I’ve asked her how – as your employer – she intends to uphold her duty of care to you under this Budget.

I asked her to explain what her plan is to fix the understaffing that’s breaking educators when her Government is making cuts instead of investing more.

And I asked her to explain exactly where the Education Department is supposed to find $80 million to cut.

But most importantly – on behalf of educators in Tasmania, I called on her to stop the cuts and invest in public schools to fix this crisis instead.

The best chance you and your coworkers have at changing the Minister’s mind is for her to hear from you directly.

It's up to you and your fellow educators.

Together, we can win safer classrooms and workloads, more educators, ending unpaid stand down, and the funding we need to fix the crisis facing our schools, colleges and TAFE – in union.

By organising and taking action, we have the power to force the government to act.”

📄 Read Brian’s letter here:
https://aeutas.org.au/state-budget-response-letter-to-the-education-minister/

Raisin' the Black Flag with a message fer the scourge o' the seven seas, the Government privateers: avast with yer pillagin' an' hand o'er the b***y, ye scurvy curs – or ye'll 'ave a mutiny on yer 'ands 🏴‍☠️⛓️‍💥

(Today be Talk Like A Pirate Day an' the buccaneers at Albuera Street Primary School 'ave the spirit!)

These are some commonly reported psychosocial hazards in schools – but did you know that there's something you can do about them?

You have the right to be psychologically safe at work under our work health and safety laws, just like you have the right to be physically safe.

If you're facing psychosocial hazards, your employer has some work to do – and you & your coworkers can make it happen.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

⚠️ Report the hazard! 👉 https://aeutas.org.au/whs

Make your employer aware every time you come up against a psychosocial hazard at work.

You can report hazards to DECYP using the Safety Reporting System (SRS).

⚠️ Raise it with your HSR

Talk to your Health & Safety Representative about the hazard so they can take it up with employer as well.

If you're not sure who your HSR is or if you don't have an HSR yet, talk to your AEU rep!

ICYMI: Tasmanian public schools have copped a decade of systemic underfunding, and now the state government are making more budget cuts to a public education system where there is no fat.

Absolutely shameful.

Premier Rockliff’s state budget is an insult to educators, students and families.

No plan, just more educators walking away and more students left behind. Sending Tasmanians back to the bad-old-days of wage caps and austerity.

It’s up to us to fight for change. We can win the resources and supports that educators and kids need.

So - what can you do?

AEU member? 👉 https://bit.ly/educate-agitate-organise

Parent or community member? 👉 https://bit.ly/stop-cuts-save-schools

Haven’t joined your union yet? Get on board 👉 https://bit.ly/aeutasjoin

Today educators are looking to Education Minister Jo Palmer MLC and Premier Jeremy Rockliff to send a positive message to educators and begin to undo the damage a decade of inequity and neglect has done to public education in Tasmania.

Educators have shared the solutions we need. Today we’ll see whether Premier Rockliff and Minister Palmer are listening.

In 2024 we’ve witnessed rising violence against teachers fuelled by growing class sizes, inadequate in-class supports and worsening disparity with mainland pay and conditions. Teachers working on an overhaul of Tasmania's curriculum have been sent home to their schools due to the teacher staffing crisis.

Four years ago, 1 in 8 teachers told us they plan to leave before retirement. Today, it’s 1 in 3.

Educators are being forced to leave our state for safer workplaces and better supports on the mainland, or abandoning the profession altogether. A decade of inequity and neglect has caused many to be unable to imagine a future in the careers they love - it's heartbreaking.

Teacher shortages have led to classes being cut or merged, resulting in even more crowded classrooms, unsafe workload and dangerous conditions, pushing educators to the breaking point. Psychological injury claims have increased 32% for teaching staff and 40% for other educators across DECYP. A shocking indictment on a Government failing in its duty of care to students, workers, and families.

The State Budget is an opportunity to deliver the comprehensive workforce plan we need to address excessive workloads, safety risks, community respect and deliver pay parity with the mainland.

The AEU’s submission to the 2024-2025 State Budget identified priority areas of investment, including:
🏫 Delivery of 100% of the minimum Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) to every public school and college
🏫 More in-class support for teachers – additional Teacher Assistants, Support Teachers and Education Support Specialists (ESS)
🏫 Ratios of 1 FTE School Psychologist and 1 FTE Social Workers for every 500 students
🏫 Increased funding and in-class support for students with disability and/or educational adjustment
🏫 A competitive wage for 52 weeks (end unpaid stand down) for Education Support Personnel (Support Staff)
🏫 Increased resourcing to Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 learning programs, and expand Tier 4 programs to Colleges

Stay tuned for more budget coverage today. If you're not getting AEU updates, send us a message and double-check your details at aeutas.org.au/update

Tassie loves TAFE. 🧡 You showed it this week at celebrations across the state for of National TAFE Day!

Australia’s public TAFE system which has supported and provided opportunities for Tasmanians for decades.

This week we're also celebrating Jaweriya Rasool, a Tas TAFE Campbell St student, Tasmanian winner of the AEU TAFE Photography Competition ❤️

Jaweriya's photo 'Sharing stories to stop racism' shows Young Migrant Education Program students at Tas TAFE sharing stories of leaving their homelands and settling into their studies and new communities, and gave our judges the feels. 📸

Jaweriya is in Canberra this week for the award presentations! Shout out to Jaweriya's teacher, who has gone above and beyond to include her entire class in the trip! They got an opportunity to meet with Andrew Giles MP - Federal Minister for Skills and Training.

Last but not least, shout out to Nick Frech, Support Staff Rep at the TasTAFE Alanvale Campus who we've awarded our TAFE Workplace Leader of the Year award at our 2024 AEU Reps Conference! (Nick is pretty chuffed)

📸 Proud to be a teacher, support staff/ESP or student at TAFE? Send in a photo to celebrate and we'll post it!

Cheers to everyone who joined us at morning teas and barbecues, took a snap and grabbed a snag! 🌭

Rebuild With TAFE AEU Tas TAFE

We know you'll do us all proud, Rachel! ❤️

The fabulous Rachel, proud Australian Education Union Tasmania member, is off to Canberra this week with unionists from around the country to talk to political leaders about why we need paid reproductive health leave.

Rachel bravely shared her reproductive health battles at our recent Women's Conference, and talked about how paid reproductive health leave would have made a real difference to her.

We know she'll represent Tassie members well and we're proud to be supporting the national union campaign for 10 days paid reproductive health leave!

All around the country, we're seeing private schools fully funded while governments neglect public education.

Not a single public school in Tasmania is funded to even the bare minimum standard. (That's right – none.)

Excellent public education should be Australia's greatest pride.

This isn't good enough.

The Federal government must fully fund public schools NOW.

Public schools ‘killing off sport’ as private school facilities grow It has become an unequal playing field for NSW schoolchildren with inner west primary schools forced to cancel inter-school sports as some private schools promote state-of-the-art equipment.

Teacher and staff shortages in Tasmania are worse because Liberal Governments have pushed down wages.
As union members, we are fighting back - for respect, for safety and for our schools, colleges and students.
Join in: aeutas.org.au/join

Did you catch yesterday’s front page headline?

“Mind the gap: public sector workers paid $6K less than mainland staff.”

New research from the The McKell Institute into Tasmanian public sector wages has found they’re behind the mainland (don’t we know it) and that while workers across the country have experienced low wage growth until recently, in Tasmania real wages began falling here years before other states.

So, why is this? In short, it’s attributable to the deliberate decision of the Rockliff Liberal Government to wage austerity and pay caps, and not just inflation. This means we’re now struggling to attract and keep workers across the public service.

This hurts not only workers but, importantly, the community they are there to support.

Tasmanian unions will keep fighting for public sector wages that are competitive with the mainland, that recognise the vital work of public servants, and that allow us to attract and retain workers in our state service for the benefit of the entire community.

**Full story in comments**

Congrats Danielle from NW Support School who wins our first $100 giveaway for our member survey!

Enter: aeutas.org.au/survey 👈

Educators stand with Child Safety Service workers!

A sea of paper dolls outside Parliament:

One for each of the 1,906 children allocated in our Child Safety Service’s critical Advice & Referral Line (ARL). Hundreds more are being picked up by case management and response teams.

Tassie’s child safety workers are spread impossibly thin. Almost 1 in 2 ARL roles are now vacant in the south. In the north west, 85% of roles are vacant.

2024 National Child Protection Week’s theme is “Every Conversation Matters.” Minister Jaensch and Premier Rockliff have the power to tell child safety workers’ their voices matter - by listening to them.

The State Budget is an opportunity for the government to address them harm they’ve caused to our Child Safety Service through years of neglect.

Fix funding now!

Great work Ruby – the best thing you can do to improve your pay and working conditions is join your union!

The AEU is run by public educators, for public educators who are fighting for fully funded education and an end to the teaching crisis.

Not a member yet? Join today ❤ https://aeutas.org.au/join

Here’s the AEU team at Brighton Primary School getting their For Every Child school!

We’re giving away one to every public school across the state as AEU members campaign to push Prime Minister Albanese and Education Minister Jo Palmer to deliver 100% SRS funding for Tassie’s schools.

Learn more about the campaign, and hear stories from families, students and educators passionate about public education. 👉 http://bit.ly/fec-book 📚

Follow For Every Child to support the campaign!

Mark Kingsley is a teacher and a proud AEU member who's spoken up about psychosocial hazards like unmanageable workloads, burnout and threats of violence in schools – and how they're driving teachers out.

“Part of the stress for people are the teacher shortages and having to teach outside of areas of specialty and training and having to take on additional duties," Mark has said.

“You never get the chance to relax, things are always on your mind. You’re checking the phone all the time out of hours to see if you need to deal with staffing issues.

"People generally are reluctant to raise issues of feeling overwhelmed and overloaded with their line manager because they know they’re in the same boat – with their own stress and workload issues.

“For me the constant stress leads to a lot of self-criticism and pressure to get everything right and you can get in a really negative cycle.

"It can get you down but you just try and keep doing the best you can.

“I’ve seen two new teachers who lasted only two weeks and a third who left at the end of Term 1 and never returned.”

Staff shortages, student behaviour and workload are all major causes of stress and burnout among teachers.

They're serious work health and safety issues, and they're the reason that many teachers are leaving.

It's the government's job to make sure work is safe for every public educator.

That means making sure education is funded properly.

We're calling on the Education Minister Jo Palmer MLC to rule out budget cuts anywhere in education and work to make sure all public schools are fully funded to at least the minimum standard.

Great work speaking up Mark 💪

It's not always easy, but it's so important for the decisionmakers to see educators telling the real story about the issues in education – and how to fix them!

If you work in a school and you're dealing with unmanageable workloads, burnout, or threats of violence, you can speak up too by reporting them to the Department as work health and safety issues.

Pop quiz! How many public schools in Tassie are funded to the minimum standard to meet students’ learning needs?

A: 👌 (i.e., zero, zip, zilch, nada, not single one)

Educators are standing up to change that, by building pressure on the Rockliff and Albanese Government’s to deliver fair funding now!

Follow For Every Child and download the free e-book to see dozens more stories from educators across Australia http://bit.ly/fec-book 📚

Educators call on the State Government to bring TasTAFE (and other GBEs) back under public control.

If a GBE can’t be trusted to deliver a berth for ships, we absolutely cannot rely on them to deliver quality public education and training!

🌈HAPPY WEAR IT PURPLE DAY 2024

💜How are you wearing it purple today?

🌈HAPPY WEAR IT PURPLE DAY 2024

💜EMPOWERING LGBTQIA+ YOUTH TO DREAM BIG AND SHARE “YOUR PASSION, YOUR PRIDE” WITH THE NATION

Today is ‘Wear It Purple Day’ when we unite LGBTQIA+ youth and allies to shine a glorious light on the thousands of schools, community organisations, universities, and workplaces that are coming together to create a more inclusive future for all.

How are you wearing it purple today?

This beautiful artwork was done by the talented 💜

It's Wear It Purple Day tomorrow, August 30th!

By wearing purple to work, you can demonstrate to rainbow young people that they're celebrated and respected, and they have the right to be proud of who they are & who they are becoming.

Wearing purple tomorrow? Send your photos to [email protected] so we can share them 💜

AEU reps say: Solidarity with the Saputo 24! ✊✊✊

The Saputo 24 are Tasmanian dairy workers who have been on strike for 10 weeks because their employer is trying to pay them far less than the mainland workers who do the same job.

It’s an absolute disgrace!

Like all Tasmanians, the Saputo 24 deserve to be paid the same as mainlanders. Educators support Saputo workers and stand with them ❤️✊

📷 AEU reps at Reps Conference 2024 today

AMWU - Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union
CEPU Tasmania

Leeanne dropped by Molesworth Primary School to share their For Every Child school!

We have one for every public school in Tassie not receiving the minimum funding needed to meet students’ needs.

(So, all of them 🙃)

Want to see inspiring stories from educators, students and community members about why full funding matters? Check out http://bit.ly/fec-book 📚

AEU members at Woodbridge District School are 🙌

This week educators shared their stories with Education Minister Jo Palmer MLC at AEU Branch Council and spoke about the impact closing the funding loophole would have in their classrooms and communities.

If you'd like to hear more stories like theirs, follow For Every Child and download the free e-book! 📚 http://bit.ly/fec-book

Deet is a passionate teacher and union rep at West Ulverstone Primary School!

We've got enough stories from teachers and students sharing their passion and vision for fully funding our public schools to fill a book...

So we did.

Have a read 👉 http://bit.ly/fec-book 📚

Follow For Every Child to support the campaign!

The educators who run the AEU's Branch Council got to talk to the Education Minister Jo Palmer MLC today.

We heard from the Minister about her initiatives since taking on the role of Education Minister and had a good discussion about education. We asked her lots of questions – and gave her direct feedback from educators about the many issues in education that need her attention (and her Government's).

Listening is a critical first step, so thanks to the Minister for hearing educators out about the real and serious issues we're dealing with day in and day out. We're looking forward to hearing about what action she takes in response to educators' feedback before the next time we get together for direct consultation.