Teachers Federation members at Hay War Memorial High School have walked off the job over the impact the shortage of casual teachers is having on their school.
NSW Teachers Federation Deputy President Henry Rajendra said staff walked out over the failure of the Education Department to adequately address the state-wide staffing crisis which has affected their school over the past six months.
“Our teachers are already overworked and this staffing crisis is adding to their workload,’ Mr Rajendra said.
“Staff at Hay are having to take classes outside of their area of expertise because the NSW Government has failed to address the staffing crisis.”
“Our members in Hay are saying that the Government’s neglect and inaction on staffing is compromising the delivery of teaching and learning at their school.”
“The staffing crisis must be addressed in order to ensure that schools are able to operate effectively and provide the best quality education for all students.”
Mr Rajendra said the Gallop Inquiry into the work of teachers found earlier this year that uncompetitive salaries for teachers and unsustainable workloads are leading to teacher shortages.”
“The workloads of teachers have increased every year, but their salaries have fallen every year compared to other professions.”
“You can’t fix the shortages without fixing the wages and workload problem.”
“If we don’t pay teachers what they are worth, we won’t get the teachers we need.”