Illawarra teachers rally at Wollongong as union demands government action

As teachers hit Wollongong to rally for better working conditions, a leaked government email implored a principal not to highlight staff shortages that would put the education minister under more scrutiny.

Teachers from across the Illawarra congregated at Flagstaff Lighthouse in Wollongong on Thursday morning to call on the NSW Government to act on their pleas about the worsening staff shortages across the state.

The rally is one of many that have occurred across the state this week, including at Kiama and Nowra on Wednesday, when the NSW Teachers’ Federation reiterated the need for Premier Dominic Perrottet to come to the table and address unsustainable workloads and uncompetitive salaries.

There are 2383 vacancies across NSW with nearly 200 of those being in the Illawarra’s northern suburbs through to the Victorian border.

NSW Teachers Federation members rally in Wollongong on Thursday amid ongoing calls for more sustainable working conditions. Picture: Dylan Arvela

“If we can’t staff Wollongong, how are we going to staff the rest of the state,?” NSW Teachers’ Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said.

“The government knows the dimensions of this. The lying, the spin, the denial and the cover up must stop.

“I am very worried about the teaching profession. Everywhere I’ve been in the state all I see in the eyes of the teachers is exhaustion, anxiety and concern. The government has got to act.”

A key demand from the union is the government overturn the 2.5 per cent salary cap on teachers’ wages, which has been in place for a decade.

The federation is demanding a 5 to 7.5 per cent increase in salaries for their members over the next two years as well as an extra two hours of “release time” to plan lessons.

Mr Gavrielatos said the NSW government needs to abandon its hostile approach to the unions to put the lives of people across the state first.

“It’s astonishing,” he said when asked if he felt the government had contempt for unions.

“They demonstrated what they are capable of just two weeks ago when they shut down the railway system and attempted to blame it on the workers when it was their decision that sent the system into such chaos.

“We are just 12 months from the next state election, the government needs to act more sensitively and responsibly to deal with these issues. These issues impact every child, every family and of course our teachers.”

NSW Teachers’ Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos in Wollongong on Thursday. Picture: Dylan Arvela

Mr Gavrielatos disclosed an email between an Education Department bureaucrat and a principal that urged the principal not to highlight teacher vacancies to ensure “the media and various members of parliament” don’t “attack” Education Minister Sarah Mitchell.

“If senior department officials put that in writing what does that say about where we’ve come,” Mr Gavrielatos said.

“It’s outrageous that they would be attempting to bully principals to conceal the impact of this shortage.

“Not only do we have politicians failing kids, but now we have public servants failing kids assuming that their role is to protect the minister at the expense of kids.”

Ms Mitchell’s office was contacted for comment and The Illawarra Star received a comment from a NSW Education Department spokesperson.

“The Department has been open about the challenges facing the long term supply of teachers and the programs and strategies in place to address shortages where they occur from time to time,” they said.

“There is no expectation from the Department that schools will hide the genuine reasons for any staffing related disruptions at their school, noting that these can be varied and complex.

“We expect principals to communicate about specific circumstances in their school and to do this factually and accurately.”

The union organised a mass statewide rally in December, but decided to put off further industrial action to give the government an opportunity to engage in negotiations.

Mr Gavrielatos also warned the Premier not to take the federation’s deferral of industrial action lightly.

“The next State Council meets on March 19 and will assess the outcome of negotiations and determine a course of action as deemed appropriate,” he said.

“Unless the government demonstrates that it is serious in providing improvements in working conditions and salary justice by mid-March, then the federation will consider the full suite of options available to it, including the recommencement of industrial action.

“It is time Mr Perrottet and his government stopped playing games and entered into genuine negotiations to resolve the current dispute.”

A NSW Education Department spokesperson refuted the federation’s claims the education system was in free fall.

“Overall, our vacancy rates remain low for a sector of our size,” they said.

“The NSW Government is on track to deliver its 2019 commitment to recruit an additional 4600 teachers over four years and is working on a number of further initiatives to deliver a sustainable supply of quality teachers into the future, particularly in critical subjects and locations.

“To encourage people to choose teaching we must promote the profession not tear it down.”

Wollongong MP Paul Scully has questioned the NSW government’s tactics of dealing with unions.

Wollongong state Labor MP Paul Scully has been a vocal supporter of the Teachers’ Federation and he questioned why the Perrottet government was not willing to negotiate with them as well as other unions.

NSW Opposition leader Chris Minns has already said Labor would not meet the 5 to 7.5 per cent wage increase if it was to win next year’s election, but Mr Scully said the concerns go beyond teachers’ pay packet.

“Why is it that with pressure on the education system, the government aren‘t willing to have a mature conversation about their concerns,” Mr Scully said.

“I have regular reports from current and former teachers raising concerns about the pressures they are under and it‘s about things that go beyond just pay.

“This government‘s first port of call seems to be to blame the people doing their job. Dismissing the concerns of nurses as a pay dispute, dismissing the concerns of railway workers as a pay dispute and now dismissing the concerns of teachers as a pay dispute. They all are all raising fundamental concerns about the way the Perrottet government is operating.”