Teachers want vote on pay deal delayed
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Teachers say the vote on their pay deal should be delayed until after the result of Saturday's election is known.
Teachers are due to vote on the deal by Friday morning, but say they way they vote would depend on which party is in power.
Alan Carpenter's government offered a pay increase between 15 and 21 per cent over three years but during election campaigning the Liberals promised to top up that pay offer by $120 million.
Marko Vojkovic from the education watchdog PLATO says it would be unfair to make teachers vote before a result is clear.
"It would make a lot of sense to postpone or delay the vote until we know who's in power, he said.
"We would look very stupid asking our members to accept an inferior offer than one that's already been put on the table by the Liberals."
However, the President of the State School Teachers' Union, Anne Gisborne is urging teachers to send in their votes.
Ms Gisborne says the Liberal Party would not lock them into the deal if it wins power.
"The outcome of a yes would provide an opportunity, if it's a Liberal government, for us to go back and negotiate a salary matter," she said.
"If it's a yes and it's a Labor Government then we will proceed to bed down the current agreement and look for further opportunities examine allowances and so on during the life of this agreement."
