Jo the Neenish Tart<p>Today, like many other West Australian teachers, I'm not going to work this morning. </p><p>It's interesting that our industrial action is represented in the media as about pay. We're not striking over salary - we're striking because the system is broken.</p><p>My son has had no Phys Ed teacher all year. He's had a procession of relief teachers which, for a special needs child, is extremely distressing. He attends an inner city public school, but staffing shortages are statewide. </p><p>Speaking of special needs students, I'd like to look after my own without having to skip lunch to ensure their needs are met. </p><p>I'd like the Education Department to give me a personal device so I can do my job <br>(more efficiently). If I want a laptop, I have to lease one. </p><p>I'd like an acknowledgement of how teaching has recently become more difficult and demanding, especially during <a href="https://aus.social/tags/COVID19" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>COVID19</span></a>, when we kept schools open and tried to keep students safe.</p><p>I enforced the mask mandate far more often than a rank-and-file police officer. I've probably been threatened and assaulted more times than many police officers too. And the statewide mobile phone ban? Guess who enforces that every single day.</p><p>So many of my colleagues have left teaching: re-trained or resigned due to burnout and stress. Who suffers? The students. </p><p>It's not about the pay. We're tired, and we need support. We're underfunded and under-resourced. We need to improve conditions for students. We need to fix the system. </p><p><a href="https://aus.social/tags/sstuwa" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sstuwa</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/union" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>union</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/unions" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>unions</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/industrialaction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>industrialaction</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/teachers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>teachers</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/teaching" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>teaching</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/westernaustralia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>westernaustralia</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/Perth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Perth</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/solidarity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>solidarity</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/FixEd" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>FixEd</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/australia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>australia</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/stopwork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>stopwork</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/strike" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>strike</span></a></p>