Australian Education Union, Victorian Branch

The day TED saw RED
Thirteen thousand protestors outside Parliament reminded the
Premier it’s time to honour his word.
president’s report
YOUR message to Ted Baillieu
could not be clearer: honour your
promise on salaries, rein in contract
employment and forget performance
pay and so-called “productivity”
trade-offs.
June 7 was an unforgettable day
— the biggest AEU teachers and
principals’ strike in Victorian history.
For the first time we filled Hisense
Arena to its 11,000 capacity with a
further 1,500 members locked outside
watching the meeting and debate on a
large video screen.
In Mildura, 350 members were
connected to Melbourne by video link.
Another rally and march were held in
Wodonga.
The meetings overwhelmingly
resolved to continue the campaign for
as long as it takes. We unanimously
reject performance pay — so counterproductive
to the collegiality required
for the best student outcomes.
Members are incensed by the
underlying assumption of performance
pay — that we don’t give our utmost to
achieving the very best for our students.
Level 3/432 St Kilda Road, Melbourne 3004
Visit us at www.retirevic.com.au
What an insult to propose that
dollar carrots will improve your efforts.
A significant body of research
supports our view. Merit pay schemes,
most recently in the USA, have
failed to produce improved student
outcomes and in some cases have led
to poorer results. Trial after trial has
been abandoned.
The river of red flowing from
Hisense to Parliament was another
spectacular demonstration of member
determination. And just as the number
striking was unprecedented, so was
the media coverage.
All this builds strong pressure on
the Government, and Premier Baillieu
in particular. It was his repeated
pledge to make Victorian teachers the
highest paid — at every level — that
the public has responded to. They
expect politicians now to honour their
promises.
We have received many messages
of support from the public and from
parents. While there were a few (very
few) complaints about the stopwork,
overwhelmingly parents understood
the issues and that we did not take
action lightly.
They supported their children’s
teachers in glowing terms. Peak
parent bodies Parents Victoria and
VICSSO gave their support. We thank
them.
Not a short campaign
We must prepare for a long campaign.
We will need to be determined, disciplined
and above all strategic. The
resolution endorsed at the meeting
provides the basis for that campaign.
We have watched other disputes
and seen the Government’s game plan
— we must not be forced into Fair
Work for arbitration. We must win with
a strategic campaign that is sustainable
over potentially a long time.
Thank you
A heartfelt thank you to the tens of
thousands of members who took a
stand on June 7.
To the many CRTs who refused to
scab on the day — thank you. We are
committed to achieving better pay and
conditions for you.
To those members who did not
take action on June 7, I urge you to
support the campaign of bans and
limitations that we will now roll out.
I also ask you to consider joining us
at future actions and increase the
pressure on the Government.
Finally, welcome to the almost 3000
new members who joined to support
the June 7 action. You made a difference
too. ◆
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Level 3/432 St Kilda Road, Melbourne 3004
Visit us at www.retirevic.com.au
APPOINTMENTS (03) 9820 8088
Retirement Victoria is the AEU’s preferred provider of financial and retirement planning services to members.
Retirement Victoria Pty Ltd is an authorised representative of Millennium3 Financial Services Pty Ltd AFSL 244252.
www.aeuvic.asn.au 3