1,000 signatures reached
To: Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Skills & TAFE Gayle Tierney
Support our TAFE Teachers!
I am asking for you to sign this petition to tell Premier Jacinta Allan and her Government that they need to respect Victorian TAFE teachers and provide the pay and conditions that values our important work.
As an experienced TAFE teacher, I am paid almost $8,000 less than a similarly experienced school teacher. This is shameful.
I have been a TAFE teacher for 17 years. Before that I worked in industry as a chef for 15 years.
Negotiations for a new deal between TAFE teachers and the Victorian government started almost 2 1/2years ago. And because of the inaction of the Premier and the Minister we still haven’t got a deal!
Why is this important?
TAFE teachers like me are dealing with unsustainable workloads and massive administrative burdens. Too many of us are burnt out and leaving the sector in droves, contributing to a chronic workforce shortage that must be urgently addressed.
It’s no surprise TAFE teachers are frustrated and feel like they’ve been brushed aside by the same government who promised to save TAFE more than a decade ago.
Without TAFE teachers like me and my colleagues, TAFEs cannot deliver the vocational education and training that Victorians need.
The teacher shortage will only get worse and the negative impact on our students and the Victorian community will only get bigger.
To make matters worse, instead of saving TAFE the state Labor government has been responsible for vocational education and training in Victoria being the lowest funded in Australia every year for the last 10 years.
Premier Allan and Minister Tierney: You need to fix the dispute with TAFE teachers and invest in them and our TAFEs.
Premier Allan and Minister Tierney: You need to fix the dispute with TAFE teachers and invest in them and our TAFEs.
Your lack of action shows you believe it is ok for Victorians to not have proper access to high quality TAFE programs delivered by valued and respected TAFE teachers.
I am calling on Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister Gayle Tierney to:
I am calling on Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister Gayle Tierney to:
• Respect TAFE teachers and pay them what they are worth.
• Address excessive workloads that lead to too many teachers leaving TAFE.
• Create pathways for the next generation of industry experts to become TAFE teachers.
• Deliver TAFE funding that covers the actual cost of course delivery.
Please, sign my petition to tell Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister Gayle Tierney that Victorian voters want action to support TAFE teachers!
Mark Zelman, Teacher at William Angliss Institute of TAFE