Teachers Federation members at Tacking Point Public School have walked off the job on June 21 over unsustainable workload conditions.
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NSW Teachers Federation deputy president Henry Rajendra said staff at Tacking Point Public School are concerned release time for primary school teachers has remained unchanged since the 1980s, with teachers now working in excess of 55 hours a week.
"Our members at Tacking Point need more time to plan and collaborate with colleagues so they can more adequately support and nurture the students in their classrooms," he said.
"The diverse student body at Tacking Point includes students with disabilities, learners from non-English speaking backgrounds and students with challenging behaviours.
"Teachers are calling on the Education Department to increase release time for primary school teachers by two hours per week so they are better able to prepare for classes."
The action is part of a wider campaign by public schools across the state.
Mr Rajendra said the staff at Tacking Point Public School have issued an invitation to Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams to visit the school to speak about the current conditions teachers were forced to work under.
"The workloads of teachers have increased every year, but their salaries have fallen every year compared to other professions," he said.
"The Gallop Inquiry into the workload of teachers found earlier this year that uncompetitive salaries for teachers and unsustainable workloads are leading to teacher shortages."
Mrs Williams said the NSW Government is working with regional schools to provide more flexibility and make it easier for schools to gain and retain staff.
"Schools, like any workplace, fluctuate in their staffing, and while a lot of movement occurs at the beginning and end of the year, schools are not immune to midyear changes," she said.
"The NSW Government is undertaking a review into the current incentives scheme to see how we can better attract and retain top quality teachers in regional parts of the State."
As reported in an article by Australian Associated Press, the NSW Treasurer Domonic Perrottet said the government, in today's (June 22) budget, would return the annual public servant pay rise cap to 2.5 per cent.
Public servants including police, nurses, paramedics and teachers received a 0.3 per cent pay rise last year.
The NSW government's 2.5 per cent annual pay rises for public servants over the next four years comes after attempting to freeze wages to fund fiscal stimulus amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as reported by Australian Associated Press.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the Government's decision to boost pay came on the back of renewed confidence in the NSW economy following a year in which the country experienced its first recession in a generation severest post-war recession.
"The pandemic has meant making sacrifices and difficult decisions. This included wage restraint during the worst of the crisis," Ms Berejiklian said.
"We put all of our financial strength into protecting people, providing economic stimulus and boosting job-creating programs. The economy is back growing and we are now able to give a wage increase to government workers and their families."
"You can't fix the shortages without fixing the wages and workload problem," Mr Rajendra said.
"If we don't pay teachers what they are worth, we won't get the teachers we need."
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