Page 3977 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 1 December 2021
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In addition to exploiting the hard work and goodwill of teachers, overwork is a serious safety issue.
Let me say that again, Mr Assistant Speaker, as I know that you often talk about workers’ rights:
In addition to exploiting—
exploiting, Mr Assistant Speaker—
the hard work and goodwill of teachers, overwork is a serious safety issue.
This is from the Australian Education Union report. It continues:
Safe Work Australia’s national guidance material on psychological health and safety and Safe Work NSW’s Code of Practice regarding managing psychosocial hazards at work both highlight excessive work hours and demands as a hazard to worker safety.
They make clear that employers have a duty of care to manage common risks relating to role overload.
And the cost to their quality of life, Mr Assistant Speaker. Again, I will go back to the report. These are quotes from teachers:
I have no time for other pursuits and teaching becomes my whole life. If there was a larger permanent teaching and administrative work force in a school that could more effectively manage the myriad difficulties that educational professionals face daily, I would consider returning …
We hear from the government in question time that apparently there are only 12 vacancies. I quote from the report:
I have been teaching in the ACT for 25 years. The job/expectations have changed drastically over this time, with an increase in workload, accountability, paperwork, duties, family expectations and so on, and a decrease in resources, respect, job satisfaction.
Full-time teachers are stressed and overworked. The main reason I work as a relief teacher is because, when working as a full-time teacher, I cannot cope with the pressure.
There is a term for this. If this was a large company—and you talk regularly about construction companies, Mr Assistant Speaker—such as a bank, an airline or a supermarket chain, this would be called wage theft. It is commonly known and widely condemned.
A November 2019 report by PwC found that the underpayment of Australian workers’ entitlements was estimated at $1.35 billion per year. This modelling was based on Fair Work Ombudsman data and showed that it affects up to 13 per cent of the total Australian workforce. Sadly, that may include our teachers.
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