NSW Teachers strike: 22 May

Teachers across NSW will take 24 hours of industrial action as a result of major changes by the state government to the school staffing system and the qualification requirements for TAFE teachers.

Teachers will be holding rallies and meetings across the state. The Sydney rally will be held at:

11am at Farrer Place outside the Department of Education and Training building and Governor Macquarie Tower.

Information about regional rallies can be found on the Federation website.

The State Government has broken a clear election promise made two weeks before the state election by the then Minister, Carmel Tebbutt. Speaking on behalf of the Iemma Government, she said that the changes, if introduced, would allow some schools to "take their pick of applicants" while others would "in many cases not have sufficient staff".

The Iemma Government has now introduced those very changes and they will hurt many schools and communities. The changes will:

• phase out teacher transfers in practice
• offload the government's responsibility for finding teachers onto schools
• lead to larger class sizes or unqualified teachers in some schools because they will find it hard to attract and retain teachers.

The Government has also removed the requirement for TAFE teachers to have teacher education qualifications. This move will lower the standard of educational provision in TAFE.

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