Southern Downs teachers take the pay deal
QUEENSLAND state school teachers, including those on the Southern Downs, have voted to accept an annual 2.7% pay increase for the next three years.
After three months of intense negotiation over job security and class sizes, the Queensland Government struck a deal with the Queensland Teachers Union last month and put the proposal to a ballot.
Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said the ballot resulted in "overwhelming support from a valid majority of state school teachers".
He said almost 95% of teachers recorded their support for the agreement, which already had in-principle endorsement from senior union officials.
"The new enterprise bargaining agreement outlines commitments about class size targets, the teacher transfer system, remote area incentive scheme and independent public schools initiative," Mr Langbroek said.
"It will be good to put these negotiations behind us now and get on with the job of improving educational outcomes in Queensland schools."
More than 19,000 Queensland state school teachers submitted a valid return during the balloting period.
