The state’s teachers will get a historic pay rise of up to $10,000 a year from the start of the next school term after the NSW public school union formally agreed to a lucrative government pay offer on Saturday.
Under the deal, NSW teachers will become among the highest paid in the country, in a move the government hopes will address a long-running teacher shortage.
Education Minister Prue Car said the once in a generation pay rise would help stem the state’s crippling teacher shortage.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
Education Minister Prue Car could not say how much the deal would cost the government when asked at a press conference on Saturday, but she flagged that cuts to the bureaucracy were on the table to fund at least part of the wage increase.
“There are savings to be had. Under the previous government, the bureaucracy was left to proliferate. We will unashamedly be redirecting money from the bureaucracy into the thing that makes a difference for kids and that is the teacher in the classroom,” Car said.
Asked if that meant jobs were going to roll, she said she had ordered that any cuts should focus on items that did not have an immediate benefit to children in the classroom – such as travel and external consultants. She said the government had already budgeted a 4.5 per cent pay rise for teachers in line with a broader public sector wage deal.
As part of the pay deal, early career teachers will get the biggest jump in salary followed by the most senior teachers who stand to get about $9000 a year before tax.
NSW public school counsellors’ pay will rise by 25 per cent to $95,000. Senior Psychologists Education will have their salaries adjusted to the same level as senior school leaders.
A right-to-disconnect clause has been inserted into the agreement that takes effect on October 9.
There will also be an overhaul of a transfer points scheme in a bid to encourage teachers to move to regional schools, which have been particularly plagued by an inability to get subject-specific staff such as maths teachers.
NSW Teachers Federation acting president Henry Rajendra said he hoped the deal would eventually end years of staff shortages, minimal supervision for students in corridors and school libraries and bring in more psychologists to help bolster the mental health of children.
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