Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell has welcomed the move from the NSW Teachers Federation to cancel strikes that had been foreshadowed to take place during the HSC exams, which are due to start on Wednesday 12 October 2022.
The union had planned for strike action timed with the start of the HSC written exams as part of its efforts to frustrate the industrial relations process – action backed by NSW Labor.
Ms Mitchell wrote to the union on 30 September 2022 urging union leaders not to add to student anxiety.
“I’m pleased the union has heeded our calls to cancel strike action that would have caused additional stress for HSC students across NSW,” Ms Mitchell said.
“Strikes on school days are always unnecessarily disruptive and cause stress for students and parents, even more so during the HSC exams.
“The NSW Government has set out a fair and reasonable offer to address teacher pay and workload issues. The matter is before the Industrial Relations Committee and I continue to urge the union to respect due process.”
The NSW Government is improving pay, rewarding excellence in teaching, increasing release time and removing unnecessary administrative burdens.
“The actions from the union and the support given to them by NSW Labor are purely political,” Ms Mitchell said.
“This government is going far beyond what other states and territories are doing regarding teacher supply and conditions, whilst facing the same staffing pressures, yet we see no such action from unions in those Labor governed jurisdictions.”
As of next year teachers will receive additional release from face to face teaching for curriculum planning. High school teachers will receive more than six hours release time per week, more than any other state or territory.
The government has also enlisted the help of education experts and teachers to develop Rewarding Excellence in Teaching that will see great classroom teachers paid significantly more.
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