Public schools operate on the goodwill of hard working teachers and education support staff. However, they are not properly resourced; many teachers report doing more than 12 hours of unpaid work each week.

Victoria has the lowest funded schools and the lowest paid teachers, which is why the Australian Education Union (AEU) has called a strike for March 24.

Education Support (ES) workers in Victoria do not even receive a paid lunch break, yet they are often asked to perform tasks, such as yard duty, which is the responsibility of teachers.

Rather than spending billions on the public-private North-East Link freeway amid a climate crisis, or contributing billions to private weapons’ companies which stand to profiteer from more wars and genocide, public funds must be prioritised to public schools for both the teachers and students.

The cost-of-living and housing crises means that teachers and ES workers were given a pay cut.

The AEU........

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