This week, all school staff in Victorian public schools, union, and non-union members alike, will vote on a four-year salary and working conditions agreed upon between the Australian Education Union (AEU) and the state Labor administration.

The sell-out agreement amounts to a significant salary loss and does little to alleviate the awful workloads. The accord was rejected by over 40% of union delegates in an extraordinarily high “no” vote.

In reaction to union disinformation, the Committee for Public Education (CFPE) formed a Facebook page against the pact in February. The page, which already has 700 members, serves as a venue for information sharing and democratic debate, as well as a political agenda to safeguard teachers’ salaries and working conditions.

With resistance building and union resignations increasing, the AEU has turned to “coercion” and “scare-mongering,” alleging that a “no vote” could jeopardize so-called accomplishments and stressing that teachers have no option but to vote “yes.”

The final vote will be counted by the employer, the Department of Education, without independent review, which is another manifestation of the anti-democratic process.

Sue Phillips, national convenor of the CFPE, recently spoke with a Melbourne secondary teacher with more than ten years of experience. She has asked that the remarks be kept anonymous.