Preservice teacher payment – progress stalled
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 124 No 4, 31 May 2019, page no. 8
The QTU could consider withdrawing support for preservice teacher supervision if universities continue to refuse negotiations over an increase in the remuneration teachers receive for the task.
The current amount, $21.05 a day, has not increased in over twenty years and is far lower than the amount received by teachers who do this work interstate. In NSW, teachers receive more than $30 a day for supervising preservice teachers.
We simply cannot allow the universities to continue to take advantage of the good will of teachers, especially given the ever-increasing workload teachers face. The federal government gives additional funds to universities for each ITE student, specifically for assisting with the cost of the practical element of their training. This amount increases each year, roughly in line with inflation. So, the universities will happily take ever increasing amounts from the federal government, without passing it on to the teachers who make practicums possible.
Last year we, along with IEU-QNT - the union that represents teachers working in private schools - wrote to all those Queensland universities that offer initial teacher education (ITE), asking them to commence negotiations on this matter. They refused.
The Department of Education has been supportive of our request and convened a Professional Experience Working Party of all stakeholders, which the universities did initially attend. We were hopeful this working party would lead to discussions regarding an increase in the payment. Unfortunately, this has not occurred.
We recently wrote to the universities again, asking them to enter negotiations. The universities still refuse. They refuse to even meet with us, let alone pay remuneration that is in line with what teachers receive interstate, or which reflects the vital role supervising teachers have in preparing the next generation of teachers.
The QTU Executive has been asked to consider our next steps. Given the blatant refusal of universities to meet, there is not much left to try.
In response, Executive was asked to consider the next step. It resolved:
THAT Executive give in principle approval to members not providing preservice teacher supervision until universities engage in good faith bargaining regarding the remuneration payable to teachers who supervise preservice teachers.
We will advise universities of this resolution and continue trying to negotiate an outcome without resorting to such drastic measures. We are not yet asking teachers to refuse to supervise preservice teachers, but we may need to later this year. It is our preference not to do this, especially given the predicted teacher shortage our state faces. We recognise how important prac is in preparing future teachers, and that it is also an avenue for teacher recruitment.
Student teachers cannot graduate without the work of supervising teachers. Universities continue to expect supervising teachers to do more and more, without paying them appropriately. Teachers deserve better, and we will not stop until the universities recognise this.
We will be ramping up this campaign in coming months; your support will be vital.
In the meantime, please continue to:
- Claim - your payment from universities
- Complain - to universities about the paltry pay; and
- Discuss - talk about this situation with any of your colleagues who might be considering supervising preservice teachers, or any preservice teachers you know.
Your support will be vital in holding the universities to account.