Marist-Sion teachers strike for better conditions

Education staff from Marist-Sion College in Warragul staged a rally on Friday morning, waving placards and shouting for fair bargaining rights, increased salaries and improved working conditions.
The protest was part of a "day of action" held across Victoria by Catholic school teachers on Friday May 29, organised by the Independent Education Union Victoria Tasmania (IEU).
Catholic school teachers' multi-employer agreement with the Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA) expired in late 2025, leaving them without an agreement.
The IEU state that Catholic education employers were continuing to resist key improvements to pay and conditions and Catholic sector employees were being forced to fight to protect conditions they already have, at a time when government school staff were securing significant improvements to pay and working conditions.
The day of action aimed to ensure Catholic teachers were no worse off than their government sector counterparts, and no worse off than what the VCEA was prepared to offer last year.
While management from Marist-Sion College declined to comment on the rally, VCEA chief executive officer Elizabeth Labone said "negotiations for a new enterprise agreement in Victorian Catholic schools are continuing."
"VCEA and Catholic school employers have committed to pay parity with the Victorian government agreement. We call on the IEU to work together to provide wage increases to staff as quickly as possible," Prof Labone said.
The IEU has sought 113 claims from VCEA and 100 of these have been rejected, according to IEU.
Key items include pay packages, time in lieu and camp allowances, professional practice days, workload, attendance on site, technical reductions to pay and conditions and union rights.
The rally was reportedly held by Marist-Sion education staff before school started and regular classes were uninterrupted, however parents and students were not notified before the event.
The protest followed a rally held by the Australian Education Union on March 24 where more than 35,000 Victorian public education staff demanded increased remuneration in line with their NSW counterparts.
An in-principle agreement was offered by the Victorian Government on May 15 which included, but was not limited to, an increase of teacher and principal salaries by at least 28.3 per cent over the next four years starting with an increase of 12 per cent by October 2026.