It was uncertain at numerous points during the week if teachers in Western Australia would undertake a stop work meeting. The Industrial Relations Commission of Western Australia (IRCWA) indicated a directive from the State School Teachers Union of Western Australia (SSTUWA) that its members participate in the meeting was not lawful. As late as lunch time yesterday I, for one, had assumed that the action would go ahead. It was therefore with no small amount of uncertainty that I attended today’s meeting.
As it turned out approximately 7000 teachers across the state participated. The effectiveness of this action is yet to be seen but it is my feeling that it will not achieve anything of itself. In fact it may be argued that by disobeying an order from the IRCWA that the union may have done itself some harm as moves commence to investigate it. I thought I might have a look at public opinion to today’s stop work meeting by reading comments on the West Australian newspaper’s web site.
I imagine that the opinions there might be representative of general views but are obviously written by people who have strong feelings one way or the other and therefore are somewhat skewed. Some of the comments were obviously written by people who were ignorant of the issues or those that enjoy hyperbole. These I didn’t disregard as ignorance can be enlightened and hyperbole contains a grain of truth. I would like to consider some the issues touched on and enlarge upon my earlier piece on the complex situation regarding the state of education in Western Australia.
A recurring theme in what I read today was that of the hours teachers work. Some of the respondees would have us believe that teachers all work from 7am to 5pm or later every day and 5 or more hours on the weekend. From a primary perspective these 55 to 70 hour weeks are myths. I am certain that some over zealous, perfectionist teachers work these hours. Possibly some teachers even need that level of planning and preparation. I can affirm that I know nobody who works these hours, nor have I ever met someone who does. Equally the 9am to 3pm workday is a myth. Most teachers would attend the workplace from 7:30am to 3:30pm. At certain times of the year they might work a few hours in the evening or on weekends but mainly work can be completed in about an hour, assuming that work has been done at school. I would say that 40 – 45 hours per week is about right. This is about in line with the general population.
Teachers are paid based on 6 hours a day contact time. Lunch and recess aren’t technically breaks and teachers are often expected to work in these times, even when not on duty. In the context of salary the next logical step in discussion or time spent at work is holidays. Again there are two hyperbolic representations. One states that teachers receive 12 weeks paid holiday per year, as though this some mitigates other arguments. The other states that teachers spend their holidays planning. Both are, for the majority of educators, simply not true. Most teachers some small part of their holidays planning. A beginning teacher may spend more time. I would consider it impossible for most teachers to plan effectively during the long holiday between years because they cannot understand the needs of the students in their class until they actually are able to assess them. Planning should always be informed by assessment.
When it comes to time spent at work members of the public not supportive of teacher pay claims will argue that teachers spend only 6 hours a day, 200 days a year at work, while they spend 8 hours a day 240 days per year at work. Or 720 hours more. Of course 1 of those hours per day are breaks, which teachers don’t get. So it is in fact 7. Then there are the 10 public holidays which normally occur during school holidays. That makes it 230 days. So it is really a 410 hour difference. If we take into account most teacher’s 8 hour days then the difference is 10 hours. Don’t believe me? Do the maths. If we were to add in something like a school camp, parent interviews or Christmas concert then, in fact, teachers would be seen to work MORE hours than “normal people”.
All of this is irrelevant anyway. Teachers are actually paid for 40 weeks work but that pay is divided up over 52 weeks. If we were to pay teachers for 48 weeks work like the majority of the work force then a teacher on the top of the pay scale would earn $82800, not the $69000 they do earn. Think about it.
Why do teachers deserve a 20% pay rise? I would argue they deserve more but let us consider this increase. Arguments against, aside from the above, clearly come from people who earn less and for whom the $70000 per year that top of the scale teachers earn seems a great deal. Teachers deserve a pay rise for the same reason that everybody not employed in the mining industry does. Inflation is out of control in Western Australia and is higher than the national rate and much higher than the figures quoted. House prices have been hyper-inflated. For a person on a teacher’s wage purchasing a home and making ends meet in general is difficult. At 20% over three years we are really standing still. We should ask for 30%.
Do other workers in WA deserve more pay? Of course they do and, like teachers, they should be prepared to fight for it. There is a shortage of quality teachers. In private industry, the mining game for example, high demand means high wages. Anybody working for the government cannot access the pressures of the marketplace to increase their pay. Don’t tell teachers they should be happy with their lot if you’re not. Don’t criticise them, join them!
Another theme that has popped up is teacher burnout. This is a real phenomenon and it has seen teachers with a good deal of potential depart the profession. Nobody should have to experience bullying, physical and verbal abuse in their workplace. Teachers do it everyday. Even when teachers don’t have to deal with these issues student behaviour is much poorer in general and teachers have to spend a good amount of time on classroom management, something which is extremely stressful over long periods. Unless you face the expectations of 30 students and their parents everyday and deal with the issues that arise in a normal classroom everyday you can’t appreciate the difficulty of the job. Some teachers aren’t cut out for it. Some get fed up with it. Even the best teacher when faced with violence, the threat of violence and verbal abuse can only handle it so long.
Extreme workload, especially in high schools where marking, planning and student numbers are greater, also precipitates burnout. So teachers leave. Pay won’t address this issue, but it is part of the bigger issue.
I’ll explore some of the solutions next time.
