Teachers from across the Territory will again be voting on the government’s latest enterprise bargaining agreement from today until December 12, after rejecting a pervious EBA offer, but the Opposition says stretching negotiations over the holiday period could see many teachers not bother returning.

The Fyles Government said that the latest offer delivers substantial improvements, including a three per cent annual pay rise to 2023, improved leave conditions, greater flexibility for work-life balance and an additional pupil-free day.

Education Minister Eva Lawler said less than half of the teacher population voted last time and that she would like to see a much higher participation rate this time around.

“I appreciate that this process has been prolonged and that our hard-working educators just want a resolution and certainty,” she said.

“I encourage every teacher who hasn’t already, to read the bulletin and make sure they have the latest facts and importantly, have their say in the ballot.”

Australian Education Union NT president Michelle Ayres previously said the teacher shortage gripping the entire country could be exasperated in the NT if the government continued to refuse to enter into meaningful negotiations.

“We could find a job outside the Territory or elsewhere and be paid much better, and be closer to true amenities and cheaper housing while being closer to families and friends… government must keep schools open, the government doesn’t want to have to close schools, or run schools with less staff than they currently are,” Ms Ayers said, after blasting the previous offer.

In August and September this year, teachers took strike action to protest the government’s proposed four-year pay freeze offer.

Between 2021 and 2022, 51 full-time teachers and 474 Department of Education staff resigned, figures presented at Budget Estimates showed.

Meanwhile, CLP Education spokeswoman Jo Hersey said that the Fyles Government has risked empty classrooms in the New Year by stretching teacher pay negotiations into the Christmas holidays

“Labor has managed to kick the can all the way to the end of the school year, inviting more and more teachers to quit the Territory and move interstate to more certainty and closer to friends and family,” she said.

“We already have short-staffed schools unable to fill dozens of vacancies and Natasha Fyles has done everything she can to further increase the attrition rate.”

Ms Hersey said teachers in the Territory have already decided if they would be staying or going at the end of Term 2.

“So why does the minister think it’s a good idea to stretch out these negotiations?” she said.

“This should have been done months ago to show our teachers they’re a valuable and critical part of our community. The drain on our teachers has been widely felt and to push the uncertainty into the Christmas holidays is just opening the door to empty classrooms in the New Year,” she said.

This is the government’s latest offer provided to the Australian Education Union (AEU) includes. The ballot is open now until 2pm on December 12:

• A 3-year agreement starting from 11 October 2021
• All salaries and expense-related allowances will increase as follows:
• 3% from the first pay period on or after 11 October 2021
• 3% from the first pay period on or after 11 October 2022
• 3% from the first pay period on or after 11 October 2023
• An additional hour of non-contact time per week for teachers in their first year after graduation
• Programming of up to 5 corresponding hours of non-contact time per semester for the mentors of first-year-out teachers, wherever possible
• Inclusion of agreed matters in previous offers
• An additional pupil-free day on the last day of Term 4 each year (from 2023).