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.
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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.