NSW teachers outraged and ‘embarrassed’ by education minister’s latest announcement

Teachers have been quick to point out a massive flaw in a government plan which was lauded as good news.

NSW’s education minister has happily announced that teachers will be receiving a pay rise but workers and unions have been left outraged over the pitiful amount.

On Friday, Education and Early Learning Minister Sarah Mitchell revealed the 90,000 educators in the state’s public system would get a six per cent pay rise over the next two years.

The decision was backed by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission.

That’s despite headline inflation currently sitting at 7.3 per cent, amid rising power, food and fuel bills, with warnings it will reach 8 per cent by the year’s end.

The announcement comes after the state has endured months of teacher strikes as workers urged the government to consider better pay and conditions to retain talent.

That means they’ve technically had their wages slashed into terms of their real wage and it’s prompted concern.

Want to stream your news? Flash lets you stream 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer available for a limited time only >

Ms Mitchell’s post on social media was lashed online.

Ms Mitchell said the announcement was “great news” but others said it was quite the opposite.

“Great news for our more than 90,000 teachers – the NSW Industrial Relations Commission has backed our six per cent pay increase for teachers over 2022 and 2023,” she said in a statement.

“Making sure our teachers receive the maximum increases they are eligible for has been a focus for me and the NSW Government.

“I hope the Teachers Federation will now begin working with us on improving outcomes for our students.”

She also claimed that teacher salaries in NSW have grown 2.5 times faster than the OECD average over the last two decades.

An additional 0.25 per cent will be added to salaries on top of the existing 2.5 per cent increase for this year and a three per cent rise from the first day of next year.

Critics were not happy.

Teachers have been striking for months. Picture: John Grainger

NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos told the Sydney Morning Herald this equated to a real wage cut.

“The decision of the government to have the award arbitrated in the IRC, restricted by government regulations, rather than negotiate salary increases above the salary cap with the profession shows how little they respect the value of teachers’ work and the impact they have on those they teach,” he said.

The federation is demanding an annual pay increase of 5 per cent plus an additional 2.5 per cent in recognition of extra experience as well as two more hours of planning time per week.

Others took to social media to express their frustration, with one saying: “What an absolute load of rubbish! I hope the NSW TF (Teachers Federation) fight for more, including better conditions.”

“Do you need someone to explain inflation to you?” said another.

“Embarrassing to post this as the minister,” added a third.

After two years of lockdowns, many teachers say they are burnt out – and not being paid enough to justify their tiring work. Picture: John Grainger

It comes amid an ongoing fight between teachers and the government as teacher shortages worsen.

In August, Ms Mitchell announced “groundbreaking plans” where outstanding teachers could earn annual salaries of up to $130,000.

In the current remuneration model, salaries for NSW teachers begin at $73,737 and peak at $117,060 if the teacher is accredited as “highly accomplished”. The wage can jump to $126,528 if teachers become assistant principals.

The suggestion was not taken well by the federation, with Mr Gavrielatos saying they needed a guaranteed pay rise for the profession as a whole.

Then earlier this month, to attract more people to the industry, Ms Mitchell unveiled a new government plan that would see the best NSW school teachers being paid more than $700 per school day.

Originally published as NSW teachers outraged and ‘embarrassed’ by education minister’s latest announcement