Teacher aides and school cleaners on the Southern Downs have been offered higher wages and improved conditions by the Queensland government after teachers took strike action on November 25 in Stanthorpe and Warwick.
Teachers, however, are not included in the deal.
“We are still waiting for an outcome,” Linda Sharman-Bowman, the Warwick Branch President of the Queensland Teachers’ Union, said.
The state government announced a guaranteed wage increase of 8 percent over three years, a CPI adjustment payment of up to 10.5 percent, improvements to the educational support for students with disability allowance, more time in lieu for attending overnight school camps, a trial of a new allowance for administering medication, and a simplified process for teacher aides to secure additional hours.
For school cleaners, there will also be an 8 percent wage increase over three years, a CPI adjustment payment of 10.5 percent, an increase to the experienced cleaners’ allowance and continued training and additional time off.
The state government has called the offer a “landmark”.
The United Workers’ Union has accepted both EBA offers in-principle, which are now subject to member ballots. If accepted by union members, the offers will then go to a full ballot of all teacher aides and cleaners in 2026. Wage increases for teacher aides and school cleaners will be backdated to November 1, 2025, if the EBA offers are accepted.
