Teachers at Overnewton Anglican Community College in Keilor will rally today as part of a half-day stop work action aimed at sending a message to Overnewton’s senior leadership and board that staff deserve competitive salaries and real measures to address excessive workloads.
Following six months of failed Enterprise Agreement negotiations, teachers at Overnewton College, an independent P-12 school in Melbourne’s western suburbs, voted to take industrial action for the first time in the school’s history.
Staff at the college, which enrols more than 2,000 students voted to begin work bans from September 8 and to walk off the job for four hours from midday on September 17. The bans include refusing to adhere to the school’s dress code policy and boycotting co-curricular activities and parent-teacher interviews.
One teacher quoted by the Herald Sun said: “Industrial action is the result of the goodwill, that has historically kept Overnewton functioning, being eroded to the point that staff feel they have no choice but to strike. This has never happened before in the history of the college.”
Independent Education Union of Victoria General Secretary David Brear said the margin between state and independent teacher pay was central to their ability to “attract and retain great staff”. Independent teacher roles can be vastly different to those in the public system, with private school educators having to attend regular weekend and out of hours co-curricular activities. “Staff in independent schools very often take on significant work in addition to their classroom duties, and being paid above government rates has been how this additional work was recognised,” he said.
“Members are seeking clear, enforceable protections around teachers’ working hours, planning and preparation time, meetings, yard duty and other employer-directed work – protections reflecting standards already established elsewhere in Victorian education.”
2024 research from Monash University has shown that teachers are overworked, underpaid and facing rising levels of aggression from both students and parents, resulting in at least 40% of teachers considering leaving the profession. As can be seen in this SafetyNet edition, a new study from Curtin University demonstrates retention issues across the teaching industry continue, with the study noting research in which 46% of Australian teachers reported considering leaving their jobs within 12 months because of workload and stress.
Excessive workloads are a primary contributor to the psychosocial hazard of high job demands and can result in serious physical and psychological health problems.
IEU members and supporters are encouraged to meet at 12:05 pm at the Overnewton Road campus to support Overnewton College teachers as they send their message to the institution’s senior leadership and board.
Read more: IEU Vic Tas | Overnewton half-day stop work action