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Class action for pay rise

Right: Catholic school teachers Corinne Davis and Maria McIntyre of St Paul’s, and Danielle George of St Thomas More, meet with Monbulk MP James Merlino, centre, to discuss pay and conditions.Right: Catholic school teachers Corinne Davis and Maria McIntyre of St Paul’s, and Danielle George of St Thomas More, meet with Monbulk MP James Merlino, centre, to discuss pay and conditions.

By Tania Martin
HILLS Catholic school teachers lobbied last week for pay parity with their interstate colleagues.
Primary School teachers from St Paul’s of Monbulk and St Thomas More in Belgrave met with Monbulk MP James Merlino and urged him to take their concerns to the Premier.
More than 150 Catholic school teachers working in the Monbulk electorate say they are concerned that the Government has failed to respond to their appeal for improved pay and conditions.
As Catholic school teachers are traditionally paid in parity with their state counterparts they are now joining the campaign to lobby the state government for more money.
Victorian teachers are calling for a 10 per cent wage increase to put them in line with other states and territories across the country.
Corinne Davis of St Paul’s Primary School said that Victorian teachers in government and catholic school systems are the lowest paid in Australia.
She said a catholic teacher who has worked for 12 years in Victoria earns $65,414 compared to NSW $75,352 for nine years, which equates to a 15 per cent difference.
Ms Davis said low rates of pay would continue to affect the ability to recruit and retain teachers if something isn’t done soon.
She said there was already a teacher shortage in Victoria, combined with a rapidly aging workforce and an increasing number of teachers leaving the profession.
“As a teacher I know how hard my colleagues work every day to educate our children,” Ms Davis said.
“It’s about time Premier Brumby, Minister Pike and Mr Merlino recognised that you can’t have a first class education system without paying teachers what they deserve.”
Ms Davis said parents living in the hills were also concerned about the decreasing number of teachers and the future of their children’s education.
She said taking the teachers’ and parents’ concerns to the Government was vital in the fight for fair pay and conditions.
“We want the Government to negotiate a fair outcome for all Victorian teachers,” Ms Davis said.
Mr Merlino said all Victorian teachers deserve a pay rise and that the Government was committed to a successful outcome.
“We want to reach an agreement that is in the best interest of our students and their families,” Mr Merlino said.
“However, these complex discussions are best handled by the negotiators.”

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