NSW teachers delivered real wage cut as inflation expected to hit 8 per cent

Teachers in NSW have been handed a real wage cut by the state’s industrial umpire, unions say, in a decision celebrated by Education Minister Sarah Mitchell but that has infuriated workers.

The NSW Industrial Relations Commission handed teachers a 6 per cent pay rise over two years, with headline inflation currently running at 7.3 per cent and expected to peak at 8 per cent in December as Australians grapple with a cost-of-living crisis and surging power bills.

Teachers went on strike for higher pay and better conditions earlier this year.Credit: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said a real wage cut to teachers would only worsen the teacher shortages and make the profession less attractive in a highly competitive labour market.

“The decision of the government to have the award arbitrated in the IRC, restricted by government regulations, rather than negotiate salary increases above the salary cap with the profession shows how little they respect the value of teachers’ work and the impact they have on those they teach,” Gavrielatos said.

The latest figures show 2458 vacant full-time teaching positions across more than 1200 NSW schools; and 75 public schools in NSW have five or more full-time teacher vacancies, with 36 of these in Sydney.

In a statement, Mitchell welcomed the pay deal and urged the teacher unions to work constructively with the government following this decision. “Making sure our teachers receive the maximum increases they are eligible for has been a focus for me and the NSW government,” she said.

“I hope the Teachers Federation will now begin working with us on improving outcomes for our students.”

The decision provides teachers with 0.25 per cent more than the 2.5 per cent increase received at the beginning of the calendar year backdated from July 1, 2022, and a 3 per cent increase from next year.

Finance and Employee Relations Minister Damien Tudehope described the outcome as fair deal for teachers, and in line with the government’s policy that linked higher pay to “productivity-enhancing reforms”.

“Our wages policy provides amongst the highest public sector wages growth in the country and I’m pleased we can deliver our teachers a pay rise well above the 2 per cent per annum increase recently made by the Victorian government,” Tudehope said.

The decision follows multiple major strikes undertaken by teachers this year, pushing reduced workloads and a pay rise above the 3 per cent offer by the government. An extra one-off payment amounting to 0.25 per cent of teachers’ salaries will also be made.

Hundreds of Catholic systemic schools in NSW and ACT will stop work for an hour on Tuesday as they push for a 10 to 15 per cent pay rise over two years.

The Independent Education Union Council’s NSW and ACT branch acting secretary Carol Matthews said members were frustrated about the “slow process of negotiations” with Catholic employers.

“This decision from the IRC is not binding on the Catholic school employers but the position of employers in the past has been that they are constrained by those increases,” Matthews said.

“If they take this approach, it will do nothing to address the big issues of teacher pay and teacher workload. We hope to meet with Catholic employers at the end of November.”

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