Teachers Federation members at Dungog Public School have walked off the job over the negative impact the state-wide teacher shortage is having on their school.
NSW Teachers Federation Deputy President Henry Rajendra said staff walked out in frustration at the teacher shortages affecting most public schools in NSW.
“Dungog Public School has had difficulty covering the classes of absent colleagues because of the shortage of casual teachers,” Mr Rajendra said.
“The school has also had problems filling its school counsellor allocation leaving students without the appropriate support to meet their needs.”
“Our members at Dungog PS have resolved to take further action unless the NSW Government takes the necessary steps to resolve the staffing crisis.”
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.”