Exam week chaos as teachers strike in pay dispute
A bitter pay dispute has led to exam week chaos as teachers walk off the job, with the state government saying negotiations are over.
Exam week has been derailed for tens of thousands of students âcaught in the middleâ of a bitter teacher strike as a state government warns negotiations are over.
Queensland state school teachers walked off the job on Tuesday after wage talks stalled following months of negotiations, with parents urged to keep their children at home.
The state government has hit back, labelling the action âextremely disappointingâ as schools scramble to reschedule exams.
Itâs the second time in months that teachers have abandoned classrooms after staging the stateâs biggest strike in August, demanding better pay and conditions.
The teachersâ union has overwhelmingly rejected an âhistoricâ government offer which included an eight per cent pay rise over three years, launching a second round of industrial action during the pivotal final week of exams.
Year 10 and 11 student exams at more than 100 schools across the state will be impacted.
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The state government said the pay deal would have made Queensland teachers among the countryâs highest paid, earning in excess of $100,000 by the end of the proposed package.
It was voted down by the union, saying it has âno optionâ but for 50,000 Queensland Teachersâ Union (QTU) members to strike for the second time in 2025.
âToday, everyone will see the true resolve and determination of our members, whoâve had enough of being ignored, disrespected and short changed,â QTU president Cresta Richardson said on Tuesday.
âThe Crisafulli government simply doesnât value public education.â
Demonstrations and protests are planned across the state, which coincide with year 11 student exams that are worth 25 per cent of their final assessment.
The teachersâ union has vented its frustration a month after Queenslandâs public nurses and midwives accepted a $1.8 billion pay deal from the state government, double their initial offer.
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The teachersâ union claimed the government had persisted with the rejected deal over more than 20 meetings and a period of conciliation in the Industrial Commission.
Pay negotiations are set to head to arbitration, a process that may take two years.
Queenslandâs Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek was critical of the action, saying it should have been dealt with by the commission.
âWeâve already expressed our concerns and my personal disappointment that this issue has come to this,â Langbroek said.
âIt is of concern that the Queensland teachersâ union is taking this to another level with another industrial action today.â
âThe offer was the offer. The offer was put to the union members â 30 per cent voted yes for it, and 40 per cent didnât participate at all. This is on the union to explain to their members.â
The minister was fiercely critical of the strikeâs impact.
âWe have 109 schools that have had ⌠year 10 and 11 exams affected â these exams are ones that contribute up to 25 per cent towards their senior assessment,â he said.
âUnfortunately, school finishes this Friday for those years 10 and 11 and for a lot of those schools, thereâs no opportunity for them to reschedule those exams.
âStudents are the ones caught in the middle, and thatâs something that we are obviously concerned about.â
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