Image: Deputy President of the NSWTF Henry Rahjendra at a rally outside Chris Minns' office in Kogarah. Image: NSW Teachers Federation/Facebook
By ABHA HAVAL.
In a bid to tackle the teacher shortage in NSW, the Minns Government has proposed a historic pay rise for 95,000 public school teachers wages to make the profession one of the best paid in the country.
The NSW Teachers’ Federation (NSWTF) has reached an “in-principal Heads on Agreement” with the state government, that includes the withdrawal of the previous “four-year proposal [of] 2.5 percent increase in years two, three, and four”.
The starting salary for a NSW teacher will see a 12 percent increase from $75,791 to $85,000, while the top ranking teachers will get 8 percent increase from $113,042 to $122,100. The Minns Government has promised a continuous rise in the wages in the following three years.
According the NSWTF the new wage increases include, “school counsellors [being] paid according to a new salary scale consisting of five annual steps, recognising their dual qualification and acute staff shortages in their discipline.”
“Casual teachers and casual counsellor school rates are also adjusted upwards from a two-step scale to a three-step scale linked to a full-time salary scale. Award based allowances are also increased by 4 percent,” the NSWTF spokesperson explains.
NSW Teachers Federation acting President, Henry Rajendra, said “This is a historic advance. Our children are the ultimate beneficiaries of this agreement if it approves.”
“Thousands of teachers have fought tirelessly to bring us to this point. They have done it because they believe in the value and social purpose of the teaching profession. And they believe all kids deserve a decent shot at life, regardless of background or bank balance,” Rajendra continued.
“The proposed agreement is a breakthrough moment.”
Teachers shortage crisis
State teachers had been suffering the consequences of the former Liberal National Government’s now “defunct wages cap,” which has left NSW teachers being the worst paid in the country.
“The teacher shortage is a crisis that brewed for 12 long years. It can only be tackled by paying teachers what they are worth,” said Rajendra.
“We cannot forget this staffing crisis was a direct result of the former government’s wage cap that artificially suppressed teachers’ pay, and their policy failures that pushed more and more work on to teachers resulting in intolerable and unmanageable workloads.”
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning, Prue Car outlines the number of teacher resignations outstripping retirements in NSW under the former government.
“Our government was elected with a mandate to improve the pay and conditions of teachers in NSW, and to fix serious issues in our education system,” said Car.
“The Minns government is setting out a long-term plan to repair the budget in a sustainable way, to rebuild the essential services we all rely on and to reinvest in our essential workers.”
The Independent Education Union (IEU) of Australia will be working closely with regulatory authorities, including NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA), and employers to minimise the workload.
Mark Northam, IEUA NSW/ACT branch Secretary told City Hub that, “while this announcement is a great achievement in addressing the teacher shortage crisis and wage problem, it is only the first step.”
“The teacher supply pipeline is 4 years long, so this is certainly not the end if the fight against the teacher shortage crisis. We will continue to campaign for scheduled release time for beginning teachers and for their mentors,” says Northam.
Prue Car said, “The Minns government is hopeful this agreement will be made, so NSW teachers can get the pay rise they so urgently deserve.”
The proposal will reach an agreement with the Teachers Federation Council on Saturday.
