Long day care workers in the Hunter set to receive 15% pay increase

BY OLIVIA GOELDNER

After significant efforts from the Independent Education Union, long day care workers in the Hunter are set to be awarded a 15% pay increase. 

Under the current award, full-time long day care workers are being paid $93,000 a year, but with the increase it will be bumped up to over $107,000. 

The federal government is set to invest $3.6 billion dollars into the increase, with pays to jump up by 10% in December, and 5% a year later. 

The union also welcomed the proposed 4.4% cap on fee increases for parents over the next 12 months. 

Carol Matthews from the union says the pay rise is aiming to boost workforce attraction and retention. 

"The rate of pay at the moment, is well under that of teachers in schools. 

"The conditions are pretty demanding, both the nature of the work and other conditions that go along with it. that has led to a real shortage of teachers and services are finding it really hard to fill those positions." 

Additional laws being requested by the union aim to address the long-term failure to properly value work in feminised sectors including early childhood education and care. 

"It's not an accident that female dominated areas are being paid less than those with less women, so it's a great move. We know there is more work to do, but this is a great first step."

Discussions are currently being made between the union and the federal government as to how the funding will be distributed. 

Pay Rise In Store For Hunter Teachers

BY OLIVIA DILLON 

Hunter teachers are set to receive a pay rise, after the Teachers Federation finally reached an in-principle Heads of Agreement with the state government after months of wage negotiations. 

As part of the agreement, the government has withdrawn its previous four-year proposal, which included a 2.5% pay increase in years two, three, and four. 

If the agreement is endorsed, it's expected the starting salary for local teachers will increase from $75,791 to $85,000.

The pay packet for a top of the scale teacher will increase from $113,042 to $122,100. 

Both school counsellors and casual teachers will also be paid according to new adjusted salary scales. 

Members of the Teachers Federation say the historic deal will be a major step forward in the push to attract and keep more teachers in the classroom. 

Essential Hunter Workers Call to Scrap the Public Sector Wage Cap

BY OLIVIA DILLON

Essential workers from the Hunter gathered at the John Hunter Hospital this morning, in a bid to address issues surrounding wages and staff shortages. 

Ahead of the event, Unions NSW Secretary Mark Morey, launched a new report, detailing how much health and education workers will be out-of-pocket if the wage cap for public sector workers isn't scrapped. 

The research into the impact of the wage cap on the pay packets of essential workers shows it will leave nurses, paramedics and teachers worse-off by between $10,000 and $12,000 dollars when adjusted for inflation over 3 years.

It also details how the 3% wage cap is adding to critical staff shortages, noting vacancies for education professionals in the region have tripled. 

Mark Morey said something needs to be done. 

"We're calling on the NSW Government to get rid of the cap, and to negotiate wage increases for its essential workers," he said. 

He said scrapping the cap is the only way to address mass vacancies across the Hunter. 

Image: Newcastle Herald

New Policy to Put Teachers in Classrooms

BY OLIVIA DILLON

The state government has introduced a new pathway, which could see aspiring Hunter teachers walking into the classroom after just twelve months.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said under the new policy, the time to complete a masters degree for post-graduate students will be halved from two years to one, after the length of the course was seen as a deterrent for would-be teachers.

Since 2011 almost 100,000 teachers have joined the force, however the policy comes as part of a continued attempt to combat teaching shortages across the Hunter and the country.

The pathway will be available from 2024, and is expected to help build the teaching force with more mid-career professionals. 

The streamlining of the course will only be available to those studying to become a secondary teacher, with a revamped primary teaching course to be available by 2026.

Labor MPs keen to build new trains in the Hunter

BY DAKOTA TAIT

Labor MPs are promising big things for the Hunter, with a swathe of policy announcements at the party's state conference over the weekend.

The Prime Minister has locked in a $500 million commitment to get started on a high-speed rail link from Sydney to Newcastle, including securing the corridor between the cities and across the Central Coast.

State Labor Leader Chris Minns also unveiled new plans to deliver a new fleet of trains, manufactured in New South Wales, if the party wins government next March. 

Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp says he's optimistic the Hunter will have a role to play.

"Newcastle's got a proven track record," he said. "We're very well-positioned to manufacture these fleets, so I'd love to see some local companies in the mix when tenders open."

"Labor's committed to local goods, local jobs, reviving local manufacturing, and this will be the signature piece running up to the election."

"Build the Tangaras here in New South Wales."

Mr Minns told the conference he was again further privatisation, and criticised the controversial commitment deeds restricting the Port of Newcastle from container traffic. 

There's hope, a commitment to recruit 1,200 new nurses and 500 new paramedics will help alleviate staff shortages in the healthcare sector, while a plan to convert 10,000 temporary teachers to full-time is hoped to do the same for Hunter schools struggling to find hands. 

"Insecure work makes it harder to get a mortgage or a car loan," Mr Crakanthorp said. "Hard to lay down roots in a community."

"Job security goes a really long way, and I know that 10,000 casuals and part-timers coming onto permanency will be a great incentive for those people to stay teaching and not look for other jobs."

Catholic teachers bring billboards to the Hunter in staff shortage campaign

BY DAKOTA TAIT

Catholic teachers are ramping up their industrial campaign in the Hunter on Monday, to address pay, conditions, and staff shortages in the sector.

The Independent Education Union is bringing its mobile billboard truck to St Francis Xavier's College in Hamilton from 1:45pm to 2:15pm, before heading to the Catholic Schools Office in Newcastle West at 2:30pm.

NSW ACT Secretary Mark Northam says they're calling on diocese employers and the State Government to respond.

"What we're trying to do is to really get the public onside and get our message across to the public in a reasonable way," he said. "But also to signal to our teachers and our support staff and our principals in the Independent Education Union, that the campaign is a serious campaign and it's reached a serious level."

"We have the perfect storm. There's more students coming into schools for the next decade or so, about a 10 percent increase in students, and at the same time, there's plummeting levels of people who are enrolling in education at universities, and sadly, it's got about a 50 percent attrition rate once they're in the course."

Over the coming week, the truck's set to continue north to Port Macquarie, before heading inland to Armidale and Tamworth, and returning to Singleton and Maitland.

Public and Catholic school teachers to strike side-by-side in historic first

BY DAKOTA TAIT

Teachers from both public and Catholic schools will strike side-by-side together next Thursday, in a historic first for the two unions.

The Teachers Federation and the Independent Education Union made the call after a joint meeting on Tuesday.

They'll walk off the job on June 30, in protest of the State Government's decision to raise the public sector pay cap to just 3 percent, and ongoing concerns about conditions and workloads in the schooling system.

It's understood, Catholic diocesan employers follow the Government policy on wages for school staff, despite not being required to do so.

The Education Minister says she's disappointed the unions have chosen to strike again, especially given it will be the last day of the financial year.

Hunter teachers to walk off the job as almost three-quarters reconsider career

BY DAKOTA TAIT

NSW Teachers Federation members across the Hunter will join their colleagues to walk off the job next Wednesday.

It's just a week after Term 2 started.

They've also been permitted to leave the classroom if Government MP's visit their school grounds, and won't adopt new Government policies and initiatives in the classroom.

The union's calling for better pay and improved working conditions, especially as the country records its highest inflation rate in 20 years.

It's understood, while the union has been in talks with the State Government, the Premier's failed to address members' concerns over uncompetitive salaries and scrapping a 2.5 percent salary cap.

It comes as a new poll of Newcastle teachers found almost three-quarters said their workload is unmanageable and were reconsidering their position.

89 percent didn't feel their pay reflected their expertise and responsibilities, while 85 percent said staff shortages were very significant.

Department of Education data from last October has revealed, across the State electorates of Newcastle, Maitland, Wallsend, Charlestown, and Port Stephens, there were 114 vacant permanent teaching positions.

Hunter teachers gathering steam ahead of Tuesday strike

BY DAKOTA TAIT

Local MPs and councillors have rallied behind Hunter teachers this morning, ahead of the sector's first 24-hour strike in a decade next Tuesday.

The Hunter is set to join 60,000 teachers and principals across New South Wales in walking off the job in protest of critical teacher shortages.

NSW Teachers Federation Regional Organiser Jack Galvin-Waight says teachers are at the end of their tether.

"Teachers are striking on Tuesday, because we have to," Mr Galvin-Waight said. "We've exhausted every available option."

"The teacher shortage in New South Wales and the Hunter is crippling our schools, they're crippling our students."

"Irrefutable evidence, including an independent inquiry, says the reason we have teacher shortages is uncompetitive salaries and excessive workloads."

Pay rises for teachers have been stuck at a cap of 2.5 percent for the past ten years, which has been described as an effective pay freeze.

Hunter Workers Secretary Leigh Shears told reporters we all need to stand in solidarity with teachers.

"We support our teachers right across our region and the State," Mr Shears said. 

"They're fighting the save the future of their profession, and for quality education across New South Wales."

Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp, Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison, Cessnock MP Clayton Barr and Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes joined union members at a Hunter Workers event earlier today.

Mr Crakanthorp says our teachers deserve our support. 

"Our teachers get a raw deal," Mr Crakanthorp said. "Our teachers do so much more than teaching."

"Our teachers are unofficial sports coaches. Our teachers are unofficial nurses. Our teachers are unofficial counselors."

"When our kids walk through those gates at school, our teachers will do anything for those kids to get them through."

The strike is the latest in a series of actions undertaken by teachers across the Hunter over the year.

Mr Galvin-Waight says it's now or never for the teaching sector.

"The State Government's documents, in their own words, have said we're running out of teachers, we're going to run out of teachers in five years, and again in their own words, they've lied," Mr Galvin-Waight said.

"We're saying this to Mr Perrottet. If you don't care about the teacher shortages, you don't care about our kids."

 

Notice of Motion for Local Teachers

 BY CHARLOTTE LLOYD

A Motion of Notice has been moved today by Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery, calling the NSW Education Minister to show support and recognition for local teachers. 

Some of the main aspects of this motion are the need for adequate staffing levels, an increased salary and a bigger focus on expertise and knowledge for teaching their students. 

The statewide shortage of teachers in the public sector has seen around 1250 jobs left unfilled with casual and part-time teachers filling the roles of which they aren't properly trained. 

This happening across both primary and secondary schools as well as special education schools. 

Ms Hornery who met with local school teachers of the area has heard concerns of the increasing demands put on teachers with the jobs becoming increasingly difficult while the salaries of teachers continues to fall in comparison to other occupations. 

“I am calling on the Minister to ensure there is an appropriate increase in salaries that recognises the higher skills and expertise of teachers and makes salaries more competitive with other professions..."

“The Minister needs to invest in our teachers because it is an investment in our students," said Ms Hornery.  

Hunter Teachers Hoping For Priority in Vaccine Rollout

BY DAKOTA TAIT

The Independent Education Union is pushing for teachers across the Hunter and the State to be prioritised in NSW's vaccination campaign.

There's concern about the possibility of schools becoming local COVID hotspots, after thousands of staff and students in Sydney were forced to isolate over the past week.

NSW/ACT IEU Secretary Mark Northam says speeding up the vaccine rollout for teachers would be "significant step forward" for keeping schools open.

"Certainly not displacing frontline health workers, we're not suggesting that at all," Mr Northam said. 

"But we are suggesting that teachers should be prioritised and support staff to be vaccinated so that schools can operate smoothly and well in Term 3." 

The Union's also calling on the Government to provide paid vaccination leave for teachers and staff to book their shot in their busy schedules.

"The communities that our members serve, their appreciation of the role and function of a teacher during what's been a fairly tumultuous year in education, schools have achieved magnificent things," Mr Northam said.

"I think it's time for a bit of repayment of the good stocks that teachers and support staff have built up."

Latest Data Shows Hunter Schools Filled to the Brim with Students

BY DAKOTA TAIT

Hunter schools are packed to the rafters, with several coming in above appropriate student capacity, according to recent data from the Department of Education.

Data shows Glendore Public School at 156.4% capacity, Jesmond Public School at 125%, New Lambton Public School at 118.5%, and Callaghan College Wallsend at 113%.

Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery says overcrowding in her electorate was putting pressure not only on schools and teachers, but parents, traffic, and transport systems.

"We see the Department just stack more classrooms into school grounds, without any thought to the surrounding infrastructure and the impact that has on local communities," Ms Hornery said.

"We have seen boundary changes to Callaghan College Wallsend, Lambton and New Lambton Public Schools which has done nothing to ease the overcrowding, but has put stress and strain on the local road network as parents are forced to now drive their children to school."

John Black, Country Organiser for the NSW Teachers Federation, says the overcrowding issue is not a surprise.

"We see it every day in every school that we visit, demountables going up and taking up valuable space and nearly every public school in the state is bursting at the seams," Mr Black said.

"This was backed up in an Auditor-General's report saying that public schools would run out of room in the two years." 

But Education Minister Sarah Mitchell says the Opposition is misconstruing the data.

"What those numbers are, are basically guidelines to our school principals around the polices that they need to put in place if they're looking at out of area enrolment," Ms Mitchell said.

"Over time we've seen some out of area enrolments creep in, and that puts pressure on existing school infrastructure."

Mr Black said the Government "tinkering with enrolment boundaries" was not good enough.

"We need serious investment to meet community demand," Mr Black said. 

"We need to build new schools, build new classrooms, purchase land, look at where development is going and actually have provisional public education and services that meets demand in those areas." 

Principal Fast Track Program Could see More of the States Best Teachers Moving to the Hunter

BY ISABEL EVERETT

A new State Government program could see more of NSW's best teachers relocating to the Hunter.

The plan would fast track the process to becoming a principal, allowing 50 teachers to reach the milestone in 10 years rather than the usual 20, if they teach in regional areas. 

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the rigorous program will require participants to learn from leading teachers at selected schools, participate in a regional placement and excel in a leadership position.

“The Fast Stream program will raise education standards across the State by training our best teachers in our best schools and then requiring them to continue teaching in areas of higher need,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“The program will be a competitive and selective employment pathway in Australia. Participating teachers will have to achieve a number of milestones and demonstrate their leadership ability to be successful.”

Deputy Premier John Barilaro said bringing our best teachers to regional NSW will benefit both the students and the community.

“Once these teachers get a taste of rural living, the hope is that they will stay regional and take up the better quality of life we have on offer,” Mr Barilaro said.

“This is about building a safer and stronger regional NSW by giving our kids the best education possible while creating valuable teaching jobs in the bush.”

Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said the Fast Stream program is unapologetically selective, competitive, and incredibly rewarding in the long term.

“To enter the Fast Stream you have to be the best, and you must remain the best,” Ms Mitchell said.

“We want the future leaders – the ones that will transform the education system of tomorrow through academic excellence, outstanding ability in front of a class, and ambition.

“Ensuring our best graduates and teachers spend time in regional NSW will help lift our regional schools.

"The Fast Stream program is a component of the School Success Model and will start in Term 1 2022.

Catholic teachers call for fairer dispute resolution

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

Teachers and support staff from 43 Catholic schools in the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese have signed a petition calling for the right to have disputes with employers heard by the Fair Work Commission.

Representatives from the Independent Education Union went to the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese head office yesterday to hand over the document, which was backed by 2000 union members.

Under current arrangements, Catholic school teachers are not afforded the same rights as those in the public sector, with Catholic employers fighting for veto powers over disputes heard in the NSW Fair Work Commission.

Organiser of the NSW Independent Education Union, Therese Fitzgibbon, says the Union will not settle an enterprise agreement on behalf of Catholic teachers until the agreement protects the teachers' right to arbitration.

She says fair arbitration is necessary for settling a whole host of workplace disputes between teachers and their employers.

"It could affect our workload agreements, which may relate to class sizes or face-to-face teaching," Ms Fitzgibbon says, "We have agreements in place but sometimes there are disagreements relating to how clauses are interpreted.

"What we have to do is make sure there's the capacity for an independent person to interpret those clauses."

The Union is hoping to resolve the issue quickly, as teachers prepare to strike in term four if they cannot reach an agreement with the CSO.