NSW Teachers Protests Over Pay, Condition as Transport Strike Continues

RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, speaks at a rally outside Kings Cross station, London, on June 25, 2022. (Dominic Lipinski/PA Media)

Thousands of teachers from New South Wales (NSW) public and Catholic schools have taken to the streets of Sydney in a joint strike to urge the government to improve pay and condition.

It is the third time the teachers walked off their jobs in six months, and the first time in 25 years that the NSW Teachers Federation and the Independent Education Union NSW/ACT representing Catholic school staff have joined forces.

The NSW Teachers Federation is calling for a pay rise of between five and 7.5 percent to keep up with the cost of living, rejecting the government’s three percent pay rise offer.

It is estimated that between 20,000 to 25,000 teachers marched down Macquarie Street in Sydney towards the NSW state parliament on Thursday.

Teachers who participated in the rally said more actions are needed to address overcrowded classrooms and staff shortages, with almost 2000 permanent teaching positions vacant last month.

Frustrated Teachers

Peter Kitonga, 50, a legal studies teacher at Sir Joseph Banks High School in Revesby in Western Sydney, said teachers’ salaries “have not kept up with inflation.”

Kitonga, who has been a public school teacher for 13 years, told the Australian Associated Press (AAP) “it’s the duty of the government to ensure that students have a qualified teacher in front of them.”

“You can bring teachers on board by giving them better pay.”

Meanwhile, Debbie Jones, a Catholic primary school teacher from North Sydney with more than 40 years of teaching experience, said that “teachers are just running on empty.”

“We’re all exhausted,” she told AAP.

“There’s just not going to be any (teachers) left. Pay teachers what they’re worth and they will come.”

Government ‘Disappointed’ by the Strike

However, Education Minister Sarah Mitchell, said she was “disappointed” and “frustrated” by the union’s decision to proceed with the industrial approach despite the government’s efforts to engage with union bosses.

“We said in the budget [that] we'd look to put a more generous public sector pay increase on the table. That’s exactly what we’ve done. It’s more than any other teacher can expect anywhere else in the country,” she told Nine News on Thursday.

“I’m disappointed on behalf of parents and kids, more disruption is not what we need at the end of term.”

Mitchell further described union action across NSW as “politically motivated.”

“It’s not a coincidence that it’s all happening at once, and that we’re a coalition government, but we'll keep working in good faith. We want to get a good outcome. We want to make sure our teachers are supported, but most importantly, that students can stay in the classroom.”

Meanwhile, rail workers continue to strike this week, despite a verbal commitment from Transport Minister David Elliott to spend $264 million (US$181 million) to fix a fleet of trains. This means commuters may need to wait five times as long for their usual train services.

Sydney Trains CEO Matt Longland says the network is operating at reduced capacity, resembling a weekend timetable.

AAP contributed to this article.