Election 2022: Chris Minns blames NSW Government for teacher walk-off

During a visit to the South Coast, NSW Labor leader Chris Minns has hit out at the state government for failing to provide assurances to the state’s teachers as thousands walk off the job.

NSW Labor leader Chris Minns has hit out at failed negotiations between the state government and the teachers’ union as thousands of educators walked off the job for the second time.

The statewide strike went ahead on Wednesday despite last-minute attempts by the NSW Government to stop the walkout, citing the possibility that changes to a controversial wage cap could take place.

The move only served to heighten tensions between the union and Premier Dominic Perrottet, who ruled out any changes to the 2.5 per cent cap until the handing down of the state budget in June.

Mr Minns was speaking to media on Wednesday outside the site of the new Eurobodalla Hospital as Labor unveiled plans to fund a new cancer radiation therapy clinic should they be elected.

He said he blamed the failed negotiations between the government and teachers’ union on a mix of “ideology and inexperience”.

“No one wants industrial action, but it does require consultation and negotiation between the government and their workforce. That’s not happening in NSW at the moment,” Mr Minns said.

“I think it’s a mixture of ideology and inexperience that’s preventing a breakthrough in these negotiations.

Labor candidate for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips, left, with state Labor leader Chris Minns, and health spokesman Ryan Park. Picture: Nathan Schmidt

“As a result, we have industrial unrest.”

The strike comes only weeks after the latest round of walk-offs by nurses across the state who are similarly calling on the government to lift wages, and to implement staff ratios.

“The government must sit down with their workforce and explain what their plans are for the wages cap so that teachers, nurses, paramedics, police officers know what they can expect to receive from their employer over the next two years,” Mr Minns said.

“You cannot pay your mortgage on a hints. Frontline workers and those in the private sector must know what the government’s intentions are.

“Let’s do everything possible to reduce industrial tension and also to do something about the rampant cost of living not just in Sydney, but right across NSW.”

On the South Coast, hundreds of teachers took part in walk-offs from the Shoalhaven to the Far South Coast, with events organised for Nowra, Pambula, and Eden.

In the Shoalhaven, NSW Teachers Federation representative for Wollongong Duncan McDonald said 28 schools had confirmed to have taken part in an event at the Shoalhaven Indoor Sports Centre.

Further south, more than 150 teachers from Moruya, Sunshine Bay, and further afield gathered in the Catalina Country Club in Batemans Bay.

Local union representative Fiona Beazley said that in her 25 years as an educator, she believed the current state government was the worst she had worked under.

“It is disgusting that we are being told the answers (to shortages) from people who think that spending a day in school as a student, having been to a school once, they know what is best for our students. They know nothing,” she said.

“I’m sick to death of the government telling me and my colleagues what is best for us, and pretending they care about our students.

“They don’t.”

Moruya Public School principal Sarah Davis said she was proud to see many of her teachers in the crowd at Wednesday's event, and said the expectations placed on teachers was changing while also increasing.

“Teaching today is a task that’s practically impossible, but it’s made possible because of the goodwill and dedication of teachers,” she said.

“As teachers, we’re passionate about making sure that the students we teach get the education they need and deserve.

“I’ve seen in my own school various positions go unfilled and re-advertised.

“A previously nearly impossible job to attain permanent and on the coast is now one that is going unfilled.”

Ms Davis said in the last term, many of their learning and support programs didn’t happen. Teachers that were running alternate programs were asked to teach a class without much notice. And, on many occasions, all staff, including Ms Davis herself, were in the classroom.

“This compounds in already overwhelming workflow for teachers, but it also means there are kids that need the most support and missing out,” she said.

Ms Davis quoted a recent survey in which 71 per cent of teachers in the Queanbeyan and South Coast region said they were reconsidering their positions due to their workload.

Narooma High school visual arts teacher Kalithea Barcala started teaching only two years ago after completing a seven year, specialised teaching course at university in Newcastle.

She said about half of her cohort had left the profession despite having already found permanent employment due to the current working conditions and staff shortages.

“I would be lying if I were to say that I haven’t thought about other prospects for myself,” she said.

“When you think that now there’s only 3000 graduates every single year, we’re not even coming close to filling the gap in staffing.

“Especially when you think that half of those graduates that enter the public and private sector will leave the profession first five years due to unsustainable workloads.”

While she said she loved her job, Ms Barcala said she hoped there’s a better future for her.

“It’s pretty grim,” she said.