Community & Business
1 September, 2022
Knuth slams State over wages
MEMBER for Hill Shane Knuth has slammed the State Government over its decision to dock the wages of teachers, teacher aides, cleaners and administration staff wages because they refused to have a Covid vaccine.
It is understood that the disciplinary measure would involve a temporary reduction of $25 to $90 per week before tax.
Mr Knuth said the “founding fathers” of the Labor movement would be turning in their graves over how far the party had fallen from its traditional values.
“The Labor party founders would have fought tooth and nail against this type of tyranny to strip teachers and other education workers of any of their salary, simply because they have made a personal choice not to be vaccinated against Covid,” Mr Knuth said.
“These are average hard-working people. They are our family members and friends who contribute to their communities.
“For the government to act against people in such a manner and treat them basically as criminals is an absolute disgrace.
“Statements by the department made in the letter such as ‘lost trust’ and ‘acted inappropriately’ are degrading to these hard-working Queenslanders.
“They are talking about how serious this disciplinary action is, yet it doesn’t matter if you are vaccinated or not, you can still get Covid and pass it on. This latest advice from the department to those affected is nothing short of vindictive and senseless.
“Every parent in Queensland should be concerned that the government is penalising their children’s teachers for making a personal choice. We were already struggling with teaching staff , which has an effect on our children's education, before this disgraceful action.
“We used to have a thing called freedom in Queensland, but those freedoms are seriously under attack by this government.
“I have never, in my 18 years in State Parliament seen such a prolonged vindictive attack against workers and everyday people who have been segregated from our society.”
