Overview
- All ACT public schools delayed their start until 10:30am on Friday because the Education Directorate said there would not be enough staff to safely supervise students during a two-hour protected work stoppage on May 22.
- The Australian Education Union represents about 4,200 local public school staff and expects most members to take part in the phased industrial campaign that began with the two-hour halt.
- The union’s actions so far include bans on written report comments and campaign messages in email signatures and the AEU has warned it will escalate to longer, more disruptive strikes in June if talks do not produce meaningful outcomes.
- Transport Canberra kept school buses running on their normal schedules, some before-school care providers extended hours, and the directorate warned parents to expect heavier morning traffic and local logistical disruption.
- Director‑general Jo Wood says the directorate meets the union weekly and has progressed some claims while others remain complex and require whole‑of‑government decisions; the dispute centers on staffing levels, rising workloads, class sizes and pay, and it is the first coordinated stop‑work action by ACT educators in 15 years.