Prue Car: Teachers’ biggest pay rise in a generation to stem the workforce exodus

The last time NSW teachers had a pay rise this big, Macarena was top of the charts and petrol was around 70 cents a litre. To say it’s been a long time coming is an understatement, writes Education Minister Prue Car.

In a few weeks’ time almost 100,000 public school teachers will get the most significant pay rise in a generation.

If the teacher’s union gives the go-ahead when they meet this Saturday, then our teachers can expect pay rises of up to $10,000.

The last time NSW teachers had a pay rise of this order was back in 1996 when the Macarena was top of the charts and petrol was around 70 cents a litre. So, to say it’s been a long time coming is something of an understatement.

The former Liberal and National government eroded teachers’ wages so badly they became some of the worst paid in the country. This pay offer brings them back to a nation-leading position, which is exactly where teachers in Australia’s biggest education system should be.

Not only will this deliver a welcome boost to teachers’ bank balances, but I hope it will help restore respect and pride to a workforce that does their best by our children every day.

The last time teachers got a pay rise of this magnitude, it was the 90s and we were all doing the Macarena.

And we need it desperately to address the teacher shortage crisis. As I write there are more than 2,000 teacher vacancies across the state, a legacy of the former government’s now defunct wage cap and tin-eared approach to the profession.

Making our teachers the best paid in the country will help stem the flow of teachers leaving NSW, around a fifth of which we are losing after just five years in the job. We cannot let that continue.

Prue Car is the Deputy Premier of NSW and Minister for Education and Early Learning, Skills and TAFE. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

We know that the more fully qualified teachers are in our classrooms, the fewer merged classes and the less disruption there will be to routines so vital for learning.

Since I became Education Minister, I have worked hard not just to improve teachers’ pay but also their working conditions.

We have slowed down the curriculum rollout, added hundreds more administrative staff to take the load off teachers, and most recently introduced a new stronger behaviour policy.

The Minns Labor Government is setting out a long-term plan to repair the budget and rebuild the essential services we all rely on in a sustainable way.

As part of the agreement, we will work with the union to find more ways to make our schools more efficient and cut red tape so that teachers can focus all their efforts on the classroom experience.

Because that is where the magic of a great education happens.

Prue Car is the Deputy Premier of NSW and Minister for Education and Early Learning, Skills and TAFE.