Staff retention: It pays to pay attention
Amid a global teacher shortage, employers continue to ignore proven ways to attract and retain staff: better salaries, manageable workloads, fair pay and conditions for support staff, and safer workplaces, writes the IEUVT Deputy General Secretary.
The research is clear, locally and globally: Australia’s National Teacher Workforce Plan and the 2022 UN High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession, amongst many other studies, are adamant that these priorities must be central to every bargaining outcome.
Yet around the country employer decision-makers continue to turn a blind eye. In Tasmania, where Catholic members are starting claim developments closely linked to the state sector, AEU members have rejected the government’s one-year 3% pay offer, staging stop-work action to highlight unsustainable workloads, rising school violence, and staff shortages. Their campaign for smaller classes, better support, and fairer pay – including for Teacher Assistants – resonates with all educators. We stand in solidarity with AEU colleagues across Tasmania.
The view from the north
Similar issues are evident in Queensland, where state school educators recently rejected three government pay offers. The latest offer – an 8% increase over three years plus incentives – was rejected by 67% of QTU members. The union insists that any settlement must address not only pay, but workload pressures, occupational violence, staffing shortages, and retention challenges. These issues are familiar to our members and are central to the Victorian Catholic schools’ Log of Claims.
Catholic bargaining
IEU members in South Australian Catholic schools face an employer refusing to meet and stalling progress – an all too common tactic in that sector. In NSW, the last Agreement delivered nation-leading salaries across state and Catholic sectors and cut teacher vacancies by 61%, from 2,460 in 2022 to 962 in Term 3 2025, showing yet again that better pay helps retain educators. IEU NSW/ACT members have now endorsed a new deal, covering all but the Broken Bay diocese, with annual increases of 3–3.5%.
Global and local issues
Across the world, the challenges are remarkably similar: educators need fair pay, job security, respect for their roles, and manageable workloads free from excessive administrative demands.
The OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) shows Australian teachers are among the most stressed worldwide: over 80% report their job negatively affects their mental health, and nearly two-thirds experience high workplace stress. Forty-one percent of secondary principals report insufficient staff – almost double the OECD average. Only a third of teachers feel valued in society.
The leading stressors are excessive administrative work, marking, and constant curriculum changes, which leave less time for teaching and student support. These findings align closely with the IEU’s surveys, and what we learn from daily interactions with members.
Employers must address these issues by reducing administrative burdens, providing safer, more supportive workplaces, ensuring fair pay and job stability, and granting teachers genuine professional autonomy.
While the union’s work is primarily in workplaces, we must also stay abreast of national and international developments to ensure the IEU can advocate effectively, respond to emerging challenges, and secure fair outcomes for all members.
