For many Victorian teachers, the government's pay offer is a secondary concern compared to the unsustainable reality of their daily working lives. Critics of the proposed agreement argue that a headline salary increase does little to solve the root causes of burnout, such as chronic underfunding, excessive administrative burdens, and large class sizes. Teachers report that they are currently working an average of 12 hours of unpaid overtime every week just to keep schools functioning, a situation they describe as an exploitation of their professional goodwill.
Those opposing the deal emphasize that the government's funding model is fundamentally broken. By failing to address the number of face-to-face teaching hours or limit mandated meeting times, the proposed agreement would have locked educators into a cycle of deteriorating conditions for the next four years. Teachers argue that without structural changes—such as hard caps on class sizes and better mental health support—the profession will continue to face a retention crisis that no amount of salary adjustment can fix.
Furthermore, there is deep skepticism regarding the government's commitment to public education. Union members point to a $2.4 billion funding gap that they claim is being purposefully maintained, forcing schools to operate on limited resources. For these educators, the strike is not merely about money; it is a necessary stand against a system that they believe has become increasingly unmanageable. They argue that the government must stop relying on the unpaid labor of teachers and instead provide the resources necessary to ensure a high-quality, sustainable learning environment for all students.