Public and Catholic school teachers will stop work in the Hastings on Thursday (June 30), calling for a pay rise to keep up with rising inflation as they grapple with unsustainable workloads and worsening staff shortages.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Port Macquarie is one of 15 regional locations across the state that will stage a rally.
The decision to take 24-hour joint state-wide strike action on 30 June was made after a historic joint meeting between the executives of the NSW Teachers Federation and the NSW/ACT Independent Education Union of Australia (IEUA NSW/ACT).
NSW Teachers Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos said this joint action is a direct result of the failure of the NSW Government and Catholic employers to address the teaching crisis.
"Both unions have come to the conclusion that the government has its head in the sand in regards to the teacher crisis," he said.
"Acting on uncompetitive salaries and unsustainable workloads is the only way to stop more teachers leaving and attract the people into the profession we need to fix the shortages."
IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Mark Northam said the crisis was impacting the entire profession.
"This is an extraordinary moment. We are standing shoulder-to-shoulder because fixing the education crisis in NSW demands no less," he said.
"Staff shortages and sinking salaries mean teachers and support staff in Catholic diocesan schools are really struggling. Teachers are leaving the profession and graduates are not entering it."
Public and Catholic school teachers will meet at Westport Park on Thursday, June 30, at 10am for the rally which will then be followed by a march.
BEFORE YOU GO:
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark our website
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- You can support us with a subscription
- Follow us on Twitter: @portmacnews
- Follow us on Instagram: @portmacnews
- Follow us on Google News