Marsden High School teachers snub NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet in surprise strike

The IR war between the NSW government and teachers union has turned nasty with school staff walking out of classrooms moments before the arrival of the Premier.

The industrial relations war between the NSW government and teachers union has turned nasty with staff at two different schools walking out of classrooms moments before the arrival of the Premier and Education Minister.

Meanwhile, the union representing the state’s Catholic school teachers has flagged they will also walk off the job for an entire day later this term like their public school counterparts as they also seek a pay rise to keep pace with the inflation rate of 5.1 per cent.

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell slammed union ­bosses for pressuring teachers to walk out of schools because it was keeping “MPs from doing their jobs and engaging with the communities who elected them”.

Ms Mitchell arrived late to a visit at Concord High School, just missing a walkout by teachers. Across town at Marsden High School, teachers also staged a protest as Premier Dominic Perrottet arrived to tour the facility.

“Parents from Concord High School and the local member invited me to see first-hand some of the infrastructure needs at their school … communities should not have to make a choice between their local member ­advocating for them and their child’s education,” Ms Mitchell said.

Premier Dominic Perrottet toured the Meadowbank Education Precinct on Wednesday. Picture: Christian Gilles

Marsden High School teachers walked out of classrooms as Dominic Perrottet toured the facility on Wednesday. Picture: Angira Bharadwaj

The teachers union is seeking a pay rise of between 5 and 7.5 per cent but under the law the Industrial Relations Commission can only approve a raise of a maximum 2.5 per cent without further productivity gains. It comes as the national inflation rate rose to 5.1 per cent on Wednesday.

Mr Perrottet on Wednesday hinted at some changes to deal with union demands.

Premier Dominic Perrottet and Education Minister Sarah Mitchell took a tour of the new Meadowbank Public School. Picture: David Swift

“There are issues across all the unions in ­relation to those specific issues … we are working through these issues, and we’ll resolve them in the budget,” he said.

But NSW Teachers Federation president ­Angelo Gavrielatos said they were ­entering into arbitration on May 9 and any policy change from the government needed to happen now.

“They are pursuing their position (in arbitration) of an increase of 2.04 per cent a week after next, isn’t there a contradiction there,” he said.

“The Industrial Relations Commission’s hands are tied because of the government’s own regulation that doesn’t allow it to break outside the government’s salary cap of 2.5 per cent.”

The teachers will go on a full-day strike on Wednesday, May 4.

He acknowledged that walking off the job was inconvenient to working parents but said the government must pay teachers more in order to alleviate staff shortages.

Teachers at Concord High walked pending the arrival of Education Minister Sarah Mitchell. Picture: John Appleyard

“Of course it is going to cause disruption, but one day’s disruption pales into insignificance compared to the hundred and hundreds of classes which are disrupted every day due to the teacher shortage,” he said.

“Teachers and principals are very angry, the depth of the anger is unprecedented.

“I don’t recall a time when there has been comparable levels of frustration, stress and exhaustion.”

Central Coast P & C Federation president Sharryn Brownlee said taxpaying parents expected that government MPs could visit schools.

“At the end of the day these are government schools and they’re the government,” she said.