‘Keep your children home from school’: Theme parks add staff as strike sends kids out of class

Theme parks and play centres across South East Queensland have ramped up staffing on Wednesday to cope with a weekday surge in visitors, as more than 50,000 state school teachers walk off the job in a historic strike.

Parents were urged by the Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) to keep children home in solidarity with striking educators, prompting venues like Movie World, Sea World, Wet’n’Wild, Topgolf, and Chipmunks Everton Park to prepare for a spike in demand.

According to The Courier-Mail, Treetop Challenge Brisbane said its Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast locations were fully booked, while Bounce Australia said staff were ready for a wave of last-minute walk-ins.

The strike, the first of its kind in 16 years, comes as the QTU warns of a chronic staffing crisis, rising workloads, and a pay dispute they say has pushed the public education system to breaking point.

The union has accused the Crisafulli government of failing to address the “urgency of serious issues” affecting classrooms statewide.

QTU president Cresta Richardson addressed a crowd in Brisbane on Wednesday morning, saying chronic teacher shortages were increasing workloads and fuelling burnout, while serious concerns like school violence were being overlooked.

“Our members have voted unanimously to send this government a clear message,” she said.

“We are united and dedicated to turning around the exodus of burnt-out teachers and school leaders from our schools. Our students and school communities need the government to do its job.”

She said if the union accepted the government’s wage offer, an 8 per cent increase over three years, Queensland teachers would be left “the lowest paid in the country”.

“We can’t let more teachers and school leaders walk out the door,” Ms Richardson said.

“We have to attract and retain our educators. Today is a day to remind everyone how important our state schools are.”

She said the strike was about more than just pay.

“This is really about conditions. We need to ensure we can attract teachers not just for the city but for the country as well,” she said.

Teachers taking part in the strike will not be paid for the day.

QTU general secretary Kate Ruttiman told the crowd the action marked the largest teacher strike in Queensland’s history.

“It is historic. The number of union members that we have is historic,” she said.

“We know that teachers want to hear from their employer, hear from the government and see that they are listening.”

Ms Ruttiman criticised the government’s proposals, saying they did little to address workforce pressures or stop educators from leaving the profession.

“During the election, the Crisafulli government made a commitment that they would take measures to address the teachers shortage crisis,” she said.

“We want to see (the government) walk that walk, not just talk the talk.”

In a direct appeal to Mr Crisafulli, Ms Richardson said teachers were “absolutely serious”.

“They are frustrated. Premier, we want to talk to you, 8 per cent is not enough over three years,” she said.

The union is due to resume talks with the Department of Education, Mr Crisafulli and the Education Minister on Thursday.

Ms Richardson said Wednesday’s strike was about keeping all options on the table, including further industrial action, if a satisfactory offer wasn’t received.

She said any new proposal would need to address five key areas.

“(The offer will need to cover) attraction and retention, reducing occupational violence, resourcing in our schools, respect for the profession and salaries,” Ms Richardson said.

She also pointed to the expired enterprise bargaining agreement, which she said had made Queensland a more attractive destination for teachers in the past.

“If you’re a transient person and want to move around, then you follow the money,” she said.

“Currently, that money is not in Queensland.”

The union has lodged a detailed submission with the Industrial Relations Commission, outlining its claims and seeking conciliation.

“Our claims are reasonable and genuine, and we believe the independent commissioner will see that,” Ms Richardson said.

“We understand our communities and we understand the pressure parents and caregivers are under, but we need to make sure public education is protected and students receive the teacher numbers and resources their parents enjoyed.

“All Queensland children and their families deserve access to quality, free public education, and our members deserve respect and a living salary for providing it.”

Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said the government had held 18 formal meetings with the QTU over the past five months and remained committed to reaching an agreement.

“Principals will be communicating with school communities about any impacts, however, schools remain open and students will be safely supervised,” he said.

The independent Education Union also voiced support for the strike, even though its members could not participate.

Queensland and NT branch secretary Terry Burke said teachers in non-government schools backed QTU’s call for fair pay and professional recognition.

Mr Burke said wages in the state sector affected the education workforce as a whole and members from 1200 independent schools had passed a resolution in support of the strike.

An Education Department spokesperson said the department had made multiple offers to replace the 2022 certified agreement.

“Despite our commitment to reaching a timely resolution and providing certainty for teachers, negotiations have stalled,” the spokesperson said.

“The department respects the QTU’s right to take protected industrial action under the Industrial Relations Act 2016.

“While we prefer to resolve matters without industrial action, we acknowledge employees’ rights to take this step.”