Professional pay policy

The AEU opposes performance pay proposals on the grounds that they are:

Unprofessional in that they assume teachers will not be committed to students without competitive rewards
Ill-informed and divisive in that they reward the few for the work of many
Anti-educational in that they fail to recognise the collegiate nature of teaching and the developmental nature and complexity of the teaching and learning process
Nothing more than a rerun of the failed Kennett Government performance pay proposals.

The AEU believes that outstanding classroom teachers should be recognised without the need to take up administrative tasks or to promote out of the classroom. The current career structure discriminates against outstanding classroom teachers and deprives students of some of our best teachers by focusing on non-classroom duties rather than the essential task of student learning and development.

Accordingly the AEU Victorian Branch will work through the Federal Office of the AEU to develop national proposals for professional pay based on defined professional standards that enable teachers to remain in the classroom and to be rewarded for their skill and commitment.

— Branch council, August 2009