WA Government willing to negotiate teacher pay but ‘rejects proposition’ from State School Teachers Union WA

The Cook Government has opened the door to negotiate with teachers asking for a 15 per cent pay rise. As revealed exclusively by The West Australian on Tuesday, the State School Teachers Union WA has flagged its members will seek the increase over two years — 8.5 per cent in the first year and 6.5 per cent in the second, or national CPI, whichever is greater. Underscoring the importance of their negotiations, teachers will be the first of WA’s public sector unions to thrash out an agreement in a new round of bargaining. A 15 per cent increase would boost the starting salary for a qualified teacher from $88,178 to $101,404 after two years, while a classroom teacher at the top of the automatic pay scale would progress from $127,737 to $146,897. Industrial Relations Minister Simone McGurk said while the Cook Government had not yet seen the teachers’ proposed log of claims, it was keen to bargain in good faith. “We’ll negotiate with the teachers’ union to work through what’s responsible for the WA taxpayers, but also demonstrates the value that we place on teachers and the work that they do,” she said on Wednesday. “I know they work hard . . . and we want them to feel respected and that will be the goal in the negotiations.” With WA still in the throes of a teacher shortage, Ms McGurk acknowledged many public sector workers were experiencing a “competitive labour market”. “So we know that we’ve got to demonstrate to, whether it’s teachers, whether it’s nurses, doctors, public servants, police officers, in the metropolitan area or in regions, that we actually value the work that they do, so that we can retain them,” she said. But she rejected SSTU president Matt Jarman’s assertion that the WA community accepted the public education system was “no longer fit for purpose”. “I really reject that proposition,” Ms McGurk said. “Schools and the people that work in them do an amazing job with the hundreds of thousands of students who attend every day through the school year. “I’m very proud of our public education system. Can it be better? Of course, and we’ll work to not only make sure that teachers and other staff in schools feel valued, but also that we try and address those other issues they’re concerned about.” The union has also called for maximum class sizes to be reduced and for at least one 30-minute break during the working day, as well as toilet breaks. UnionsWA Secretary Rikki Hendon said almost all public sector unions would negotiate new industrial agreements in the next 12 months, so they would be watching the SSTU negotiations closely. She said public sector wages were still recovering from a period of wage suppression in WA that saw them fall behind both private sector wages and CPI. “Public sector pay went backwards in real terms, resulting in staff attraction and retention crises in almost every government department and particularly in rural areas,” Ms Hendon said. “When wages don’t keep pace with the cost of living, everyone suffers. Perth CPI is expected to remain high, as indicated by the 5.5 per cent CPI forecast for the 2026 June quarter in the recent State Budget.” When asked if a Liberal government would hike teachers’ pay by 15 per cent, shadow education minister Liam Staltari said the Opposition would seek a briefing from the union on their proposed log of claims. “Teachers play one of the the most important roles in our community and they deserve to be valued accordingly,” he said. “That means ensuring their pay reflects the vital work they do. “Instead, too many teachers feel under-valued, under-resourced and under-supported. WA has the worst student-to-teacher ratios in the country. Teacher resignations have surged, while concerns about workload, increasingly complex classrooms and a lack of practical support are raised with me time and again.”