We voted No. What next?
Let’s re-group, bring the union back together, and prepare to strike early in Term 3
Thousands of AEU members across Victoria assessed the government’s offer and found it lacking.
The pay increase for ES base salary was woefully insufficient. There were no improvements to teaching workloads. And to top it all off, it was a 4 year offer not a 3 year one.
58% of sub-branches rejected the in-principle agreement, sending our officials back to the negotiating table with the Allan government. So, what happens now?
AEU Survey
AEU State Council has resolved to release a survey to all members in the coming week. Our officials have said that this survey is to find out what members’ priorities are and to determine members’ appetite to take more industrial action.
This is an odd decision given that we already have a log of claims and 98% of members voted for industrial action. Justin Mullally’s email out to members even included a list of key concerns!
And even a handful of visits to schools would show to our bargaining team just how keen we are to strike again – members have been fuming about the regional strikes that were called off!
With this context, the decision to do a month-long survey reads as a delaying tactic. The officials have clearly been caught on the back foot with this No vote and need to regroup.
But that doesn’t mean we should throw this survey out the window. We may as well use it to build engagement, bring Yes voters back into the fold and build towards a strike early in Term 3.
We need to be careful though. The officials will likely do what they can to manipulate the responses of the survey. As such, we need to make our demands as clear as day. For the majority that voted No to the in-principle agreement, you would already know what you want to see in a future agreement. From organising in our schools and regions, the feedback has been clear and consistent:
Fair pay rises - consistent pay increases across all workers, especially ES. ES deserve increases built into their base salary and teachers should all receive the same percentage increase. We don’t need to just match NSW, we need to be appropriately valued for our work.
Workload relief - either through reduction in class sizes, increased support, reduced face-to-face hours or reduced weekly meetings. You and your sub-branch know what’s needed.
A 3 year agreement, not a 4 year one.
But we can’t just argue for these things without also walking the walk. We also need to show that we are willing to strike again.
The government, though they are under pressure to wrap this up before the election, will not just instantly cave to our demands because we voted No to their deal. We still need to force them to give us what we need through strikes.
The 24th March strike was powerful – it brought the union together, lifted moods and increased what we thought was possible. We need to do it again and get prepared to strike early in Term 3.
If we want to win our log of claims, we need to be willing to make sacrifices and show the government we’re serious about saving public education. The only way to do this is by walking out on strike.
Meeting bans and distributing information is important, but it’s not going to force the government’s hand. Only disruptive stop work will do that.
So when filling out the survey make sure you, and your sub-branch colleagues, emphasise BOTH:
Your commitment to the demands in our log of claims AND;
Your willingness to strike to win those demands.
Talk to your colleagues that voted Yes
A strike with only members who voted No will be incredibly weak.
One of the most important jobs at this juncture in the campaign is to corral the union back together to prepare to charge at the government again.
We need to be talking to our colleagues, especially those that voted Yes, and convince them of the need to keep our heads up and keep fighting through another strike.
We can’t afford to alienate members at this crucial point of the campaign. Consider one-on-one conversations like:
“I know you voted yes for the agreement but it’s so important we all stick together to make sure we get something we’re all happy with. Would you be willing to strike again?”
These conversations need to be natural and sincere. We’re all in this together and we need all members on board to get the win we deserve.
Beyond 1-1 conversation with Yes voters, we also need to make sure our sub-branches are united and strong for the fight to come. We suggest to do the following this week:
Call a sub-branch meeting to discuss the ratification outcome and the upcoming survey.
Discuss what your sub-branch needs to see in a future agreement. What are your key demands? What are your red lines? Click here for more information about developing red lines in your sub-branch.
Raise the importance of strikes. Members need to know that we must be willing to strike again and they need to include that in their survey responses. Also discuss what kinds of strikes you’d be willing to take – One more day? Two more days split across Term 3? Regional? Statewide?
Pass a motion demanding State Council commit to strike action in the first few weeks of Term 3. Send it to your organiser and relevant officials at the AEU.
Encourage members to complete the survey before the holidays so they don’t forget.
Get creative. Ask members to send a confirmation of the completed survey by Thursday to go in the draw for you to cover their Friday yard duty.
A rested organiser is a good organiser…
Many AEU members have been putting in the hard yards this term. That’s on top of our regular workload that’s causing severe burnout. As our campaign continues into Term 3 and demands increase, it’s important that we all get some rest and relaxation over the holidays.
The best union organiser isn’t worth anything if they’re burnout coming into our big Term 3. So make sure you take some time – however small it may be – to rest and reevaluate why we fight.
It’s not only for us and our families, it’s for our students, our communities and for the future of public education.
With those stakes, we need to be ready to fight. So let’s regroup, re-assess, re-build our unity and get ready to strike hard early in Term 3.