Shoulder to Shoulder - Stronger Together
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 131 No 3, 22 May 2026, page no.5
Across the state, 2026 Labour Day celebrations saw a large turn-out of QTU members, all embodying our theme: “Shoulder to Shoulder - Stronger Together”.
Labour Day is always a great reminder of the many achievements that workers, and in our case teachers and school leaders, have achieved collectively over the past century when they have stood united.
It is a time to reflect on some of the key working conditions we have achieved and built upon, and that sometimes we can take for granted.
In the history of public education in this state, no government or employer has taken a benevolent or altruistic approach to improving the working conditions or salaries of their employees. If they did, we would probably not be here.
That is why it is important for members to stick together through the current arbitration process. It is also why our arbitration team continues to work on your behalf to build the strongest case possible. They are determined to protect and defend existing working conditions, steadfast in their pursuit of improved industrial conditions in Queensland state schools, and are aiming for a system in which all workers are valued, respected and rewarded.
Right now, QTU members are bearing the heavy weight of inflationary pressures in the economy. A 4.7 per cent CPI figure for Brisbane in the March quarter released at the end of April, coupled with the Reserve Bank decision to raise interest rates again and the spike in the prices of fuel and essential goods due to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, have compounded economic pain for workers right across the economy. For the majority of QTU members working in schools though, the rising cost of living has a sting in the tail. For many members there has been no increase to their salaries since 1 July 2024, the date of the final increment in the previous certified agreement.
At the same time, some teacher shortages continue, with the system continuing to supplement the shortfalls with Permission to Teach (PTT) employees. All the while, in each community salary relativity keeps slipping against a private education sector that can afford pay increases, thanks to the significant direct funding it receives from both the Queensland and Commonwealth governments.
Inflationary pressures on the economy are unlikely to be relieved anytime soon, given the major infrastructure build needed to deliver the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, feared to create an inflation bubble in Brisbane and the broader Queensland economy well above the national trend over the next five years.
With all of this pressure building, you have to question what logic could possibly be used to argue against an interim salary increase, a position the government took in response to our submission in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC).
Let’s not forget, the Queensland Government budgeted for a 3 per cent wage increase and the potential for a CPI uplift adjustment of an additional 0.5 per cent as part of its wages policy. If it believes that its employees, or indeed the public, will think it is fair to deny a modest salary increase whilst the arbitration process continues, this is misguided. Our members teach the students of this state, and in turn they are trusted by parents and carers. If the reasonableness test is applied, then supporting their employees to receive an interim increase in line with the budgeted state wages policy simply makes sense.
When members made their decision to reject the final offer in negotiations at the end of 2025, triggering the commencement of arbitration, they knew that their Union would have the will, the resources, and the professional and industrial expertise to see it through.
The government has a clear choice. It can provide relief to its employees at any time. It can choose to recognise the pressure upon its employees, those teachers and leaders who continue to show up every day in schools across this state. The QTU remains ready and willing to sit down and work out an administrative pay increase prior to 24 August, the date set down for our interim increase matter to be heard.
QTU members have stood shoulder to shoulder for close to 140 years, and history shows that we have been stronger together because of it. Now more than ever, QTU members stand united, and we will see this through.