NSW teachers strike for better pay, more time to plan lessons

Teachers across NSW will join rail and bus workers today in striking for better pay as new modelling shows educator salaries have increased by more than $23,000 over 10 years.

Salaries for teachers at the top of the pay scale have increased by more than $23,000 over the past 10 years and grew faster than wages in the private sector, internal NSW government documents show.

As teachers across NSW prepare to strike on Tuesday, adding a further day of disruption to frustrated parents besieged by months of homeschooling during Covid lockdowns, information from the Education Department shows a new teacher earns $7000 more than a graduate lawyer at a top-tier firm – and $11,000 more than a graduate accountant.

Teachers will walk off the job for 24 hours on Tuesday as part of a campaign for a pay rise of between 5 and 7.5 per cent over the next two years, and an extra two hours of “release time” to plan lessons.

Educators hold concerns about a 2.5 per cent salary cap that has been in place for a decade and severe teacher shortages.

The strike will go ahead despite the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) last month issuing orders against it.

NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said the number of vacant permanent teaching positions had increased to more than 3000 in mid-November.

He said even excluding 1037 new positions, there were 2001 vacant positions – more than double the 995 recorded in June.

But he said the state government had made no effort to address unsustainable workloads and uncompetitive salaries.

“Teachers and principals from the inner west to the far west are telling us they just can’t find the full-time and casual teachers they need,” he said.

Federation Council voted unanimously for the stoppage at a meeting in Sydney.

“The NSW government is concerned about children missing out for one day, but we are concerned about children missing out every day because there simply aren’t enough teachers.”

The Teachers Federation will put its case for a pay rise to the IRC in May.

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the strike will cause “the frustration of teachers, parents and our students”.

She accused the union of not being interested in negotiating.

“They promised the radicalised section of their membership a strike months ago, and it’s clear that disruption to students is what they are hellbent on delivering,” she said.

Documents prepared by the Education Department to put the case against the strike show that over the past 10 years, the salary for a NSW classroom teacher at the top of the scale has increased to $107,779 – a 6.9 per cent increase in real terms, when compared with inflation.

This represents an average pay rise of around 0.7 per cent per year. In contrast, wages in the private sector grew 4.6 per cent in real terms (around 0.5 per cent per year).

Mr Gavrielatos cited government briefings that, he said, admitted teachers’ pay was declining relative to other professions.

Sharan Baker with her daughter Emma, 11. Sharan will have to take the day off work on Tuesday due to a teachers’ strike. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“The workloads of teachers are unmanageable and the government’s 10-year wages cap means the salary they earn doesn’t reflect the skills or responsibilities they have,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the only action the NSW government is prepared to take is legal action to try and stop teachers and principals protesting over salaries and workloads.”

The last time NSW teachers held a mass walkout was in 2011, and they were joined by nurses, firefighters and police.

The action was deemed illegal by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, and the teachers’ union was fined $6000.

Western Sydney mum of three Sharan Baker will need to take a day off work on Tuesday to look after two of her children, who will need to stay home because of the strike.

She agreed that teachers should have better pay and conditions but said the union should have gone on strike during the Covid lockdown to prevent further disruption.

“My son’s in Year 7, so he’s already trying to play catch-up and struggling with what he’s missed during that period. Having another day off now, he’s just another day behind,” she said, adding that four people at her workplace will likely have to take the day off to look after kids at home because of the strike.

Rail and bus workers are also striking across NSW today with tens of thousands of commuters expected to be affected.