Labor ‘will listen’ to teachers on strike but won’t offer solution

The NSW Opposition has claimed they’ll listen to teachers striking over pay and staffing issues- but have stopped short of revealing any concrete plan to fix the ongoing dispute.

Wednesday’s massive teacher strike has been slammed as a “crisis of the government’s making” by the Opposition, but Labor has backed away from tabling an alternative pay scheme or detailed plans to address the issue.

Deputy Labor leader and shadow education Minister Prue Car wouldn’t be drawn on the party’s proposal to placate the powerful teacher’s union if they won the election next year.

“We cannot negotiate from opposition,” she told reporters following Wednesday’s march up Macquarie Street, where around 10,000 teachers rallied in a sea of red outside NSW Parliament.

“It is up to the government to fix it (but they) really aren’t listening, because now we have 15,000 desperate teachers out there desperate for the government to listen.

“Labor believes in fair pay for teachers, and we will listen to the teachers each and every day because the government isn’t even bothering to listen to teachers in New South Wales.”

Labor MP Prue Car. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Rallies broke out across the state over the federation’s demands for a pay rise between 5 and 7.5 per cent with thousands gathering at a similar protest in Newcastle as well as regional hubs like Orange.

The President of NSW’s powerful teacher’s union has signalled it will continue to cause classrooms chaos “until we win”.

Teachers made creative signs for the protest. Picture: John Grainger

A placard held during the protest rally. Picture: John Grainger

At a packed rally in front of NSW Parliament, union president Angelo Gavrielatos told thousands of protesting teachers “we will continue campaigning” until the NSW Government meets its demands revolving around pay and working conditions.

“My message to the Premier is negotiate. We are ready now to negotiate,” he said to thousands of cheering teachers.

“My message to the Premier is…We won’t accept anything less than what our profession and our children deserve.”

Teachers at the rally told The Daily Telegraph stories of breakdowns, neglected family lives and burnout.

Teachers on strike meet at Hyde Park then March onto Parliament House for speeches. Picture: John Grainger

School teachers congregate in Hyde Park ahead of their march towards NSW Parliament on May 45. Picture: Jenny Evans

“I had a massive breakdown last year. The working conditions pushed me over the edge. I was sinking trying to stay afloat. I have three kids…I was working nights, I was working weekends and that was just to keep up,” mother of three and Katoomba High School teacher Elizabeth Daley said.

“I’m not even that concerned about the pay. I love my job but I just can’t do my job because there’s not enough hours in the day. My job is killing me.”

Wage increase negotiations between the union and the state government have been postponed until after June's state budget. Picture: Jenny Evans

Cheryl Rose, a Dulwich Hill teacher, said she could only spend two minutes each hour with individual students in her class of 28.

She said her work life balance had left her so under pressure that she feels “like a whale with bloody spitting out the top of its head sometimes.”

“I leave school at about 5pm. I go home, say hi to my husband and family and sit down at my laptop and start working again until midnight,” she said.

Thousands of teachers descended on the Sydney CBD this morning amid the strike action.

Members of the powerful NSW Teachers Federation will gather at Hyde Park from 9.30am today, before marching to the gates of NSW parliament.

Children joined their educator parents in Hyde Park. Picture: John Grainger

NSW Police are unaware of any road closures, but commuters and people moving around the CBD should be aware that thousands of protesters could slow roads and public transport around the city.

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said yesterday the majority of schools in the state would have skeleton crews in place to watch over students, while other schools have shut completely, forcing parents to work from home or find alternative care for their children.

It’s the second protest in six months after teachers marched in the city in December, the first time in a decade such action had been taken.

Minister Sarah Mitchell on Wednesday was forced to defend pay rises for political advisors, who are eligible for a nine per cent boost, as teachers scrap for their own increase.

“My understanding is those (pay) bands are actually the upper limit … there aren’t any ministerial staff who are being paid at the top of that top band,” Ms Mitchell told Ben Fordham on 2GB.

Wage increase negotiations between the union and the state government have been postponed until after June's state budget. Picture: Jenny Evans

Ms Mitchell and NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos both didn’t confirm how many teachers would descend on the CBD today, but similar numbers are expected to the December event which involved more than a thousand teachers.

The education Minister yesterday implored teachers not to take part in the protest, saying in a personal appeal that school staff “do not need to follow the directions of union bosses”.

Mr Gavrielatos said yesterday that teacher’s current workloads were “unsustainable … because we have a teacher shortage crisis”.

“It‘s now in the hands of the government to resolve in the only way possible, and that is by way of a policy reset, to ensure that teacher salaries are competitive and to ensure that the crippling workloads are addressed,” he said.

It’s the latest public sector workforce to march on the gates of NSW parliament this year, following similar protests over pay and working conditions by paramedics, nurses, and public transport workers.