Teachers walked off the job yesterday to hold a protest meeting in Treasury Gardens in opposition to the estimated $290 million cut to TAFEs.
Australian Education Union state president Mary Bluett said protesters would next rally outside Coalition MPs' offices.
''It's time for those backbenchers to stand up for their local communities and support their local TAFE,'' she said.
Some protesters wore white chefs' hats with stickers that said ''Stop the cuts''. Students also joined the rally. It came after a prolonged series of protests across the state.Documents leaked to the media last week revealed plans for campus sales and closures, fee rises and college mergers in response to the funding changes.
William Angliss Institute professional cookery teacher Garry Blackburn said the funding cuts would affect young students beginning their careers and mature workers hoping to train for a new job.
''We've got people that have business degrees, engineering degrees, they're coming and they want to cook for a living,'' he said.
''It was quite short notice for the unprotected action, but at the end of the day you have to take a stand and be proud of what you do for a living.''
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