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TRANSCRIPT
Dressed in red and converging in the heart of Melbourne.
Victoria's public education workers, fed up and with one simple demand.
According to the education union, at least 32,000 Victorian teachers gathered from schools around the state.
Justin Mullaly, the Victorian branch president of the Australian Education Union, giving further voice to their frustration.
"Teachers, education support staff workers and school principals have come out today because they are deeply frustrated. They feel completely disrespected by the Allan Labor government. They want them to act, they want them to put on the table an offer that will genuinely respect their work."
Victorian public education workers are calling for a 35 per cent pay rise over four years.
Teachers also say measures are needed to improve workloads.
Speaking to SBS outside of Victorian parliament, these education workers say Victoria's slogan, 'the education state', is not a true reflection of the state's priorities.
"This is meant to be the education state. It is not. It is the worst education state."
"It's not just for pay, it's actually about conditions... Why should our schools miss out on the facilities that other schools are getting."
The Victorian government has offered a 17 per cent increase over four years, with teachers getting an eight per cent boost and education staff a four per cent boost in April.
Education Minister Ben Carroll says the offer on the table is the best it can do.
"The offer of 18.5 percent with an immediate uplift of 9.5 percent provides educators right across our state with an uplift of up to $11,500 immediately. Combine that with the best conditions in the nation, lower student teacher ratios, lowest face to face hours class time, paid time in lieu, an agreement with the union, to look at a flexible work trial."
Organisers in Victoria say if the government doesn't come to the negotiating table after today's action, it can expect more strikes just like this one.
"And we don't do that in order to inconvenience parents or in order to put pressure on students. We do that because the government isn't supporting us. We're the lowest funded state in the country, and there's no reason for that, other than the government's decided it's so."
Entry-level Victorian teachers are the lowest-paid in the country, with a minimum wage of just over $79,500.
By comparison, an entry-level teacher in Queensland gets at least $84,078, and one in New South Wales gets a minimum wage of around $90,000.
The situation is only slightly better for experienced teachers.
An experienced teacher can earn as much as $118,063 in Victoria... but that number is higher in every state and territory, except Queensland.
The 24-hour teachers' strike is Victoria's first in more than 13 years, and comes eight months out from the state election.
This teacher says the strike is critical for the future of the state's children.
"I need everyone to understand how important it is for our children and our education - they're our future."
Elsewhere in the country, Tasmanian teachers have also rejected their government's offer.
Teachers in Tasmania's northwest went on strike on Tuesday, ahead of action from educators in the state's north on Wednesday and in the south, including Hobart, on Thursday.
Teachers there are calling for a 15.6 per cent pay rise over three years, with the state government offering a three per cent pay rise in years one and two, and 2.75 per cent in the third year.
With pay rates between $82,000 and just over $118,000, they're also among the lowest earning teachers in the country.
