Catholic school teachers strike for fair pay
Image: IEU members march at a rally in May 2022. Photo: Supplied.
By ERIN MODARO
Catholic school teachers in NSW and the ACT stopped work for one hour this morning in a protected strike as they push for fair wages and working conditions, amidst a statewide teacher shortage. The Independent Education Union of Australia announced the strike would take place from 8:30am to 9:30am this morning, with some divisions striking later in the day.
Catholic school teachers are calling for pay rises, a cut to paperwork and administration loads, adequate time for lesson planning and an end to staff shortages.
Independent Education Union of Australia NSW/ACT Branch Acting Secretary Carol Matthews said that teacher’s salaries have been falling in recent years, comparative to other professions. The union notes that the NSW Industrial Relations Commission gave NSW government schools a 2.29% pay rise in 2022 and a 2.53% in 2023.
Although Catholic schools salaries are not directly decided by government regulations, the union says that Catholic employers have “long imposed the NSW Government’s wages policy on Catholic teachers”.
“The IEU condemns these derisory increases – they are not enough for IEU members nor for members of the NSW Teachers Federation,” Matthews said.
IEUA NSW/ACT Branch President Tina Ruello said that today marks “another historic day for catholic teachers and support staff”.
“Once again we are forced to take industrial action in pursuit of just outcomes for our claims of better pay and working conditions” Ruello said.
The IEU has been in negotiation for a new enterprise agreement since February, with no resolution reached as of yet.
“It is now November and employers are no closer to resolving pay issues” Matthews said.
Teaching shortage predicted
The strikes come just months after the IEU declared a teaching shortage revealed by data from the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). The current rate of growth og the teaching force in NSW is not enough to sustain student demand in the future, the September report said.
“The union has been ringing the warning bell on teacher burnout, teacher shortages and the impact on students for some time” IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Mark Northam said in September.
The strike also comes as the NSW Parliament reported its findings from an inquiry into teacher shortages across the state, with the inquiry projecting a shortfall of 4000 high school teachers by 2025.
The inner city and eastern suburbs schools taking part in the actions today include Brigidine College in Randwick, Casimir Catholic College in Marrickville, Marcellin College in Randwick, McAuley Catholic Primary School in Rose Bay, St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School in Coogee, and St Columba’s Catholic Primary School in Leichhardt.
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