AUSTRALIA – Most schools across NSW will be closed today as teachers take industrial action for better pay and work conditions.
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell told Today the decision for union bosses to go ahead with the strike was disappointing and she shared parent concerns over what it would do to students and families.
“It’s really frustrating. The last thing that I want to see is disruption to students and families,” Ms Mitchell told Today.
“It’s really hard for a lot of mums and dads today when they can’t send their children to school.”
Ms Mitchell said the state government is continuing to work through negotiations with the NSW Teachers Federation and have been doing so for months, but industrial action won’t get the outcome they desire.
“We understand cost of living and household budgets, we all know our teachers do an incredible job,” she said.
“I meet fantastic teachers every day, but there’s a process to work through. The industrial action doesn’t serve any purpose in getting to that outcome. All it does is disrupt parents and families and that’s what upsets me.”
The union is fighting for an annual pay rise above 2.5 per cent amid inflation surges across the country.
Unions across several essential workforces, including paramedics, nurses and teachers, have staged rolling strikes this year in a campaign against the state’s public sector wage cap, which limits annual pay rises to that 2.5 per cent cap.
