The move will intensify pressure on Premier Dominic Perrottet,who is already dealing with defunct trams,the economic recovery from COVID-19 and attempts by his Canberra counterparts to poach state MPs to stand at the federal election.
It will also test the support of parents,who spent up to 17 weeks this year supervising students learning at home during COVID-19 and will need to keep their children home again on strike day as there may not be supervision at school.
Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos acknowledged a strike would not be ideal for parents. “But if we do not take action now,teacher shortages will only widen and the disruption in the years ahead will only be greater,” he said.
Negotiations over an enterprise agreement are at a stalemate. The federation is calling for a pay rise of 5 per cent a year with an extra 2.5 per cent to recognise extra experience,as well as two more hours of planning time a week.
However,the NSW Department of Education is curtailed by the government’s public sector wage cap,introduced amid strikes in 2011,which limits increases to 2.5 per cent a year. The policy only allows the cap to be exceeded if productivity gains are negotiated.