Parents split over support for upcoming teacher strike

Parents associations around NSW are split over whether they support the teacher strike scheduled for this week,with some saying it’s time for teachers to receive better pay and conditions for their efforts and others saying they do not want any further disruption to students.

Public school teachers are set to stagetheir first 24-hour strike in almost 10 years on Tuesday,December 7,amid rising anger about increasing workloads,stagnating pay and staff shortages.

Striking teachers rally in Sydney in 1988. Today’s teachers would need a 15 per cent pay rise to restore them to their wage status three decades ago alongside comparable professions.

Striking teachers rally in Sydney in 1988. Today’s teachers would need a 15 per cent pay rise to restore them to their wage status three decades ago alongside comparable professions.The Sydney Morning Herald

Union members from across Sydney and as far as Newcastle and Wollongongwill rally in Macquarie Street while country teachers will be asked to gather in regional centres. They will call for a pay rise of 5 per cent a year as well as two more hours of planning time a week.

David Hope from the Northern District Council of P&Cs said his organisation did not support industrial action if it disrupted students.

“We recognise that issues relating to the teaching workforce need to be handled better by the parties involved in the negotiations,” he said. “A refresh of the way schools are operated is needed if we are to modernise our education system and improve things for students and teachers.”

The NSW P&C Federation said it did not have a position on the industrial action. However,some individual P&Cs supported it.

Marrickville Public School P&C said it “strongly supports” Tuesday’s strike. “We can all see how hard our teachers work for our kids,” it said in a letter to parents. “They are valued community members and deserve to have proper pay and conditions.”

Both the Stanmore Public and Tempe High School P&Cs have also come out in support of the union’s demands to improve teacher salaries,reduce workloads and address shortages.

“Teachers deserve more than thanks ... The proposed changes are an investment in our teachers and in the future education of our children,” the Stanmore parents’ association said.

NSW Teachers Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos wrote to parents,saying he understood the strike was not ideal,but educators were deeply concerned about a shortage of teachers and the impact they were having on students.

“Due to rising student enrolments,an ageing workforce and a significant decrease in the number of people enrolling in teacher education courses the teacher shortages will only get worse,” he said.

Schools told parents on Friday whether they would be open with supervision because some teachers would still be working,or non-operational because there would not be enough staff available. If schools were open,the COVID-19 cohorting arrangements - dividing students into age-based groups - would not be available.

“The department’s learning from home resources will be available for ongoing curriculum support,” the letter told families of students at schools that would be closed. Only members of the NSW Teachers Federation are protected in the strike action.

A spokesman for the Department of Education said:“we once again urge the Teachers Federation to put students first and to call off their planned strike,which has been ruled unlawful by the Industrial Relations Commission”.

He said teachers had been advised their participation in industrial action would be deemed an “unauthorised absence” and they would not be paid for that day.

“The strike will cause further disruption and inconvenience to students and families at the end of a difficult year due to COVID-19 lockdowns,and only weeks after students returned to the classroom fulltime,” the spokesman said.

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Jordan Baker is Chief Reporter of The Sydney Morning Herald. She was previously Education Editor.

Natassia Chrysanthos is the federal health reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age,based at Parliament House in Canberra.

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