Teachers at prestigious Melbourne girls’ school launch action over pay disputes

Teachers at one of Melbourne’s most expensive girls’ schools fighting for higher pay say their working conditions fail to support female educators.

Teachers at the Lauriston Girls’ School in Armadale launched industrial action on Monday after reaching a stalemate with school management in their negotiations over a new enterprise bargaining agreement.

The dispute over pay and conditions is the latest to hit the education sector and comes after 35,000 government school workers walked off the job last month to rally in the CBD.

Pay talks at Lauriston, which charges $50,752 for domestic students in year 12, have been under way since May last year, with teachers pushing for an 18 per cent pay rise over three years.

Last month, teachers rejected the school’s latest offer of a 9 per cent pay increase over three years, with 170 staff voting against the proposed agreement and 30 supporting it. Under their current agreement, teacher salaries at the school range between $95,493 for a level 1 staff member and up to $138,247 for a level 10.

One teacher, who did not want to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly, told The Age that teachers were pushing for a pay rise that kept pace with inflation – as well as fair and transparent conditions.

They also said they were concerned about the school’s messaging around gender equality.

“We are a girls’ school that speaks proudly about empowering young women, yet many of the conditions affecting female staff fall short of that vision,” they said.

“It took sustained advocacy just to have superannuation paid on parental leave, despite this being a basic government standard, and there has been resistance to strengthening provisions for pregnancy-related medical appointments and domestic violence leave.”

They said a recent International Women’s Day breakfast had also caused tension among staff. “The theme [was] centred on ‘Balancing the Scales’. It was a positive and important conversation; but for many staff, it also highlighted a gap between what we say and what we do. We talk the talk, but too often we fall short of walking the walk.”

Lauriston principal Sabine Partington said the school respected the right of staff to express their views.

“Women make up 76.5 per cent of Lauriston Girls’ School’s workforce and a high proportion of our staff work part-time. We ensure our staff are well-supported at all stages of balancing career and family commitments,” Partington said.

Partington said the school strongly supported leave provisions for domestic violence and pregnancy-related medical appointments, and had long-standing policies in place to ensure staff had access to these when needed.

“Our staff are among the highest paid in the independent sector, reflecting the value we place on their contribution. They are central to the school’s strong reputation and continued enrolment demand,” she said.

“Negotiations will continue, and we remain confident of reaching a fair and sustainable outcome.”

As part of protected action, the teachers have agreed to add statements to their work emails, put materials in the workplace about the union’s campaign, and not adhere to their employer’s dress codes.

Industrial action is uncommon at private schools. Last year, Strathcona Girls’ Grammar teachers handed out flyers to parents during a pay dispute, with an agreement reached later that day. In early April, teachers at Aitken College in the city’s north balloted for industrial action, but an agreement was struck before it progressed.

Independent Education Union general secretary David Brear said Lauriston teachers had rejected the offer because it failed to address key workload and parental leave issues as well as pay.

“At a time when staff in Victorian government and Catholic schools are campaigning for double-digit increases just to catch up with education salaries in NSW, Lauriston staff refuse to be locked into an inferior three-year deal,” Brear said.

He said members wanted to get back to focusing on their core jobs, and were ready to sit down to negotiate a fair deal.

“However, they are also prepared to escalate their campaign and take higher-level industrial action if that’s what it takes.”

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