Overview
- AEU members narrowly voted down the government’s revised offer of about 28–28.3% over four years, triggering a 24‑hour statewide strike and a large Melbourne rally.
- Union leaders say the dispute is as much about excessive unpaid hours, large class sizes and chronic underfunding as it is about wages.
- The AEU continues to press for a three‑year, 35% pay rise and broader conditions changes while the government maintains its package would make staff the best paid in Australia.
- The strike on Thursday has left many state schools effectively closed or offering only limited supervision and has prompted bans on overtime and other targeted industrial measures.
- The standoff exposes a $2.4 billion funding shortfall against the national schooling standard and adds political risk for the Allan Labor government ahead of the election.