Breakthrough in teachers' pay negotiations

The Western Australian Government and the State School Teachers' Union Executive have reached an agreement on a salaries and conditions package for more than 21,500 public school teachers and administrators.

The agreement - which is subject to acceptance by union members - will ensure that WA teachers are the best paid of all the States.

Education and Training Minister Mark McGowan said the agreement was reached after meetings were initiated by the Chief Commissioner of the WA Industrial Relations Commission, Tony Beech.

The agreement provides for:

·        classroom teachers (level 2.4) to receive a 21.67 per cent pay rise during the three-year agreement, with the first increase applying this month;

·        a senior teacher (ST2) to receive a 19.37 per cent increase over the same period;

·        an additional 20 minutes per week of duties other than teaching (DOTT) time for primary teachers over the life of the agreement; and

·        pay increases ranging from a minimum of 15.84 per cent to 21.67 per cent for different groups of teachers and administrators.

The agreement has increased allowances by between $2,000 to $4,000, taking them to:

·        $14,000 to $19,000 per annum in 43 remote schools;

·        $7,312 and $12,500 per annum in 121 country schools; and

·        $2,000 or $3,000 per annum in 80 metropolitan teaching program schools.

An agreement has also been reached on 15 hours' professional development each year outside school time, more flexible school hours and streamlined consultative processes with the SSTU that will allow more than 40 working parties to be scrapped.

Mr McGowan said the agreement was a common sense result for the State's education system and Government school teachers.

"There have been important and necessary gains for teachers, but in addition, greater operational flexibility has been achieved for the education system to meet the challenges ahead," he said.

"The Government has responded to the Union's concerns about teacher workload by agreeing to additional DOTT time for primary teachers and clerical support for secondary school heads of department."

The Minister said the Government had achieved its policy aim of giving all teachers a significant pay rise while providing additional incentives to those working in the toughest schools.

"There are more than 240 schools in the State where teachers will get extra allowances - 50 more than was previously the case," he said.

"In response to representations by the SSTU, the Government has extended these allowances to eligible schools in the Albany, Bunbury and Warren-Blackwood education districts for the first time."

Mr McGowan said the Government recognised that teachers and administrators had been frustrated by the lengthy negotiations.

"Importantly, through constructive discussion, the Government and the SSTU have been able to work towards the common goal of ensuring that teachers in WA are better paid than their interstate counterparts."

Over the life of the agreement:

·        a graduate teacher will go from $46,533 to $57,696 (inclusive of graduate allowances);

·        a classroom teacher at the top of the automatic increment (level 2.4) will go from $69,132 to $84,114;

·        a senior teacher (ST2) will go from $72,844 to $86,953;

·        a level three classroom teacher will go from $77,744 to $91,394; and

·        a level four administrator will go from $93,464 to $109,874.