The ACT Greens have today expressed support for educators and other public school workers in the ACT after Australian Education Union workers voted to take industrial action.
"Educators and other public school workers have been offered a below-inflation pay deal which simply isn't good enough," said Miss Nuttall.
"In this context, it's absolutely no surprise that they have voted to follow in the footsteps of fellow workers in Victoria and Tasmania and take industrial action.
Last week, Victorian teachers announced that they were escalating their industrial action after walking off the job last month, while Tasmanian teachers have recently come to a deal with their state government after a months long dispute.
"When workers come together to take action, employers are forced to listen and bring a fairer deal to the table.
"Amidst a war-induced cost of living crisis, Governments must ensure that pay keeps up with inflation - at the bare minimum.
"So far, the ACT Labor Government has responded to questions on these negotiations by simply stating the fact that workers have the right to strike. This alone isn't enough.
"Public education is a vital function of our community. We all know how hard teachers work, and how dedicated they are to providing excellent education to Canberra's children.
"The average salary of a teacher is $100,000 per year. It takes Gina Rinehart 4 hours to make this much money.
"In this context it is quite frankly insulting that there is a question about whether the Government should give our teachers the bare minimum pay increase.
"And we wonder why we're struggling to hold onto all our great educators.
"The system is broken.
"The Government must do more to support our educators and public school workers to ensure they are paid enough to pay their bills and continue in the profession that they care so deeply about.
"The ACT Government must now come to the table and negotiate to ensure education workers receive a fairer deal."
