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Budget funding reveals what’s possible; New payday rule welcomed; Urgent action required on NSW teacher shortage

The latest results from the annual Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Well-being Survey are of great concern and highlight the strain school leaders are under as they struggle to manage the ever-increasing workloads, demands and expectations of their jobs.

As you would have seen, your union has commissioned an independent review into the current state of public education in WA. The SSTUWA Review of Public Education, chaired by former premier and education minister Carmen Lawrence, will not only identify the current issues impacting on our public education system in WA, but also look at the much needed practical and realistic solutions.

Whether you are a principal, deputy, head of learning area, senior teacher or Level 3 Classroom Teacher, you are in a unique position to offer insight into the challenges public educators face on a daily and long-term basis.

With Western Australia’s public education system currently facing a teacher shortage, among other issues, the unfortunate reality is that schools in regional and remote areas are the worst affected. While it is tough to find experienced, fully qualified teachers to teach specialist subjects in metropolitan schools, it’s far more difficult to attract those people to country schools.

The SSTUWA recently discovered that a regional TAFE college had been unlawfully demanding repayment of the initial cost of moving to the regional location from employees who resigned prior to completing two years of service.

So you’ve finally made it. After years of study, months of practical placements and perhaps a few weeks of wondering which shoes to wear on your first day, you’re a qualified teacher. Now the real challenge begins!

The Australian Education Union (AEU) has affirmed its commitment to the Yes campaign for the upcoming referendum on the First Nations Voice to be enshrined in the Australian Constitution.

On Thursday 23 March, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the wording of what will be proposed in the referendum to change the constitution and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the First Peoples of Australia.

ChatGPT and its powerful capacity to generate original text has taken the education sector by surprise. Not only are universities hurrying to adapt to it, schools are also grappling with this new technology.

The WA Department of Education (DoE) moved to ban access to ChatGPT in schools at the start of the 2023 school year.

The beginnings of the union: The story of the State School Teachers’ Union from its inception is a story well worth the telling. It’s a story of many trials and vicissitudes. It’s a story of incredible achievement in the face of much official and teacher apathy.

The ROGS report from the Productivity Commission (PC) is the fourth in a row making important insights on where Australian education has gone wrong.

Some of the commentary on the Productivity Commission (PC) report on the National Schools Reform Agreement (NSRA) has drawn a simplistic and highly misleading link between increased school funding and results.

AEU welcomes funding commitment; AEU urges a reimaging of the early years; Narrowing gender pay gap provides little relief

One of the core reasons for establishing a review into the public education system (led by former WA Premier and one-time federal education minister Dr Carmen Lawrence) was to encourage community debate about public education.

The SSTUWA wants regional community members to have their say on the state of WA’s public education system, as part of its independent review led by Dr Carmen Lawrence.

International Women’s Day will be celebrated on 8 March. This year’s global theme is #EmbraceEquity. “Equity isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have.” A focus on gender equity needs to be part of every society’s DNA - and it’s crucial to understand the difference between equity and equality.

Kaya and happy new year. As we enter the Bunuru season here in the southwest, the hottest time of the year, it certainly feels as though the sweltering conditions are getting worse every year, with more extreme weather patterns becoming a regular occurrence.

A long overdue public debate has started in Australia about free riding in industrial relations – when non-union members benefit from collective agreements negotiated by union members without contributing (through membership dues or other payments) to their negotiation and administration.