24 Hour TAFE Strike and Rally

Wednesday 2 September 2009
Rally, Parliament House, Macquarie St - 11:00 am
Assemble Hyde Park North (near Archibald Fountain) – 10:30 am

Federation members in TAFE will stop work for 24 hours on Wednesday 2 September. A TAFE rally will be held outside Parliament House. Members should gather at Hyde Park North (near Archibald Fountain) at 10:30 am. A short march down Macquarie St from Hyde Park North will commence at 11 am, and rally outside Parliament House.

The Federation Executive met this morning, Monday 31 August 2009, and resolved the following:

“Executive expresses its grave concern that neither the Premier nor the Minister of Education and Training have responded to urgent requests by the Federation on 20 August seeking their intervention in the dispute over TAFE teachers’ salaries.

Executive notes that the Department of Education and Training persisted with its application in the Industrial Relations Commission which, if granted, will result in the effective abolition of the equivalent of over 500 full-time teaching positions in TAFE and the erosion of a significant range of working and learning conditions.

This appears to be little more than a crude attempt to have TAFE teachers fund shortfalls in the government’s general revenue at the expense of the TAFE system. These cuts will enable the government to save in excess of $50 million per annum to fund salary increases for TAFE teachers which are only worth, on average, $15 million per annum.

As a consequence of the failure of the Premier and Minister to take action to resolve this dispute, Executive determines that TAFE members will stop work for 24 hours on Wednesday, 2 September. A rally of TAFE teachers will be held outside the NSW Parliament House on that day.”

It’s time for all members in TAFE to take action to safeguards jobs and maintain TAFE quality.

Regards,

John Irving
General Secretary
NSW Teachers Federation