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Speaker 1: I was listening to question time yesterday as I do

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Speaker 1: when Parliament sits like I say, I do that so

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Speaker 1: you guys don't have to. And the Minister for Education

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Speaker 1: evil Or of yesterday confirmed in Parliament during question time

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Speaker 1: that a new offer has been put on the table

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Speaker 1: for Northern Territory teachers. Now, this offer would see a

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Speaker 1: three percent pay increase is my understanding, for the next

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Speaker 1: three years and back pay to October twenty twenty one.

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Speaker 1: So the way that the Education Minister had worded it

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Speaker 1: on during question time yesterday is that it was a

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Speaker 1: three plus three plus three. So I'm keen to find

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Speaker 1: out exactly what this means and whether the Northern Territories

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Speaker 1: teachers are going to accept this offer. So again my

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Speaker 1: understanding is that that information is going to be sent

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Speaker 1: out to teachers today so that they've got a better

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Speaker 1: understanding of what the government is putting on the table

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Speaker 1: at this point in time, including that back pay, and

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Speaker 1: then whether the teachers move forward and decide to accept

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Speaker 1: that pay increase or whether they continue to sort of

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Speaker 1: to dig their heels in and try to seek a

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Speaker 1: better offer. But however you look at it, you would

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Speaker 1: have to suspect that they're keen to try and work

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Speaker 1: something out as the year draws to a close. There

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Speaker 1: is literally two weeks left of school. In some cases,

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Speaker 1: it's only a week left of school for some kids,

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Speaker 1: and we all want to know what the situation is

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Speaker 1: going to be from next year and whether the teachers

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Speaker 1: are going to be returning to school from next year.

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Speaker 1: So joining me on the line right now to tell

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Speaker 1: us a little bit more about this offer is the

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Speaker 1: Education Unions Michelle Airs. Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Katie.

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Speaker 1: Michelle, thanks so much for your time this morning. Now,

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Speaker 1: I was just saying that I was listening to question

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Speaker 1: time yesterday and heard the Minister for Education confirm during

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Speaker 1: Parliamentary question time that a new offer has been put

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Speaker 1: on the table for Northern Territory teachers. Michelle, what exactly

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Speaker 1: is this offer?

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Speaker 2: Okay, So what we're looking at is a three year

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Speaker 2: offer that includes three percent per annum's salary increases. So

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Speaker 2: the teachers at this point are over eighteen months or

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Speaker 2: by the time this would be three of the eighteen

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Speaker 2: months overdue for a salary increase. The last time they

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Speaker 2: had a salary increase was in twenty twenty. Due to

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Speaker 2: the way free policy that we have, thank goodness, managed

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Speaker 2: to convince the government to do away with. So there

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Speaker 2: will be three years of three percent increases backdated to

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty one, which would include a three percent increase

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Speaker 2: for October of twenty or any case yet after October

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Speaker 2: of twenty twenty one, and a three percent increase after

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Speaker 2: October of twenty twenty two, which had been an immediate

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Speaker 2: six percent jump in salaries for NT teachers, including full

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Speaker 2: back pay.

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Speaker 1: Michelle, has this offer gone out to teachers or is

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Speaker 1: it when is it due to go out?

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Speaker 2: It went out today, so it's been out in an

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Speaker 2: access period for the last week from the OCPE, and

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Speaker 2: it is the important thing to note is that this

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Speaker 2: isn't necessarily something that our union is endorsing. We have

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Speaker 2: worked with the government on it and we have tried

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Speaker 2: to put or tried to get as much in there

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Speaker 2: as possible for our teachers. We would have liked to

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Speaker 2: see more. We have a lot of hard working, burnt

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Speaker 2: out teachers in the Northern Territory and we would have

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Speaker 2: either liked to see more in salary, perhaps the cost

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Speaker 2: of living bonus or some relief of pressure on workloads. However,

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Speaker 2: that being said, we understand our contingent of teachers as well,

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Speaker 2: who would just like to you know, get on with teaching,

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Speaker 2: receive their back pay, and move into twenty twenty three

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Speaker 2: with a fresh start. So what we are, what we're

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Speaker 2: saying as a union is that we would like out

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Speaker 2: teachers to have the opportunity to you know, have their

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Speaker 2: voice in this. Rather than are taking a stance and

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Speaker 2: telling them how to vote, we would like them to

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Speaker 2: vote their conscience on this life. I definitely understand both physicians. Personally,

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Speaker 2: I would ye like to see more for our hard

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Speaker 2: working teachers, but I understand for sure the people who

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Speaker 2: are like I'm just ready to move on from their

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Speaker 2: whole thing, well.

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Speaker 1: And I reckon this is the right approach. I think,

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Speaker 1: you know, let teachers decide, and like you said, there

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Speaker 1: may be some who go, do you know what, this

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Speaker 1: is good? I'm ready to move forward with this and

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Speaker 1: I'm happy with this offer. Michelle, you said that it

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Speaker 1: is going out today. How soon will we know whether

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Speaker 1: teachers accept this offer or not?

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Speaker 2: Yees? So it's due to calling on the twelfth of December,

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Speaker 2: so it really we've been cutting it fine. With the

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Speaker 2: end of the term. There but week ten for anyone

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Speaker 2: who's not a parent or a teacher who counts weeks,

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Speaker 2: and yeah, that when pretty soon after that closes, will

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Speaker 2: have the data from the OCPE on where that's standing.

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Speaker 1: That is certainly cutting it very fine. When it comes

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Speaker 1: to the end of the year, Michelle, what's going to happen?

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Speaker 1: You know, I if this can't sort of be firmed

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Speaker 1: up by the year's end, and what do you think

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Speaker 1: this deal says as we head into next year? Oh?

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Speaker 2: Well, that's anyone's best guest, Katie. Mine would be that

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Speaker 2: we are going to be in trouble in education next year.

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Speaker 2: We already are when it comes down to it. If

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Speaker 2: we want to look at why it's taken this long.

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Speaker 2: Why did it take until, you know, the middle of

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Speaker 2: October almost to lose the wage freeze and for us

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Speaker 2: to go back to negotiating for this agreement. The government

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Speaker 2: had dragged their feet time and again. I would have

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Speaker 2: really liked the AU to be able to come out

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Speaker 2: and strongly support and get our members on board rather

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Speaker 2: than having to ask them, you know, to vote. But

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Speaker 2: when it came down to the request we're putting forward,

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Speaker 2: the government just seemed and I under they're short on money.

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Speaker 2: I understand the physical problem. However, I'm here to fight

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Speaker 2: for my teachers and what they deserve. And yeah, I

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Speaker 2: would have really liked to be proactively supporting this, but

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Speaker 2: at the end of the day, it comes down to

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Speaker 2: the government and their stance. And yeah, I'd really just

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Speaker 2: like to see more for our teachers.

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Speaker 1: Well, Michelle, we're very keen to hear exactly how teachers vote.

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Speaker 1: Please keep us up to date, and thanks so much

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Speaker 1: for letting us know the ins and outs of that

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Speaker 1: later steal.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, Kate, thank you