Public teachers in New South Wales are poised to be among the best paid in the nation after striking a pay deal with the state government for a $10,000 pay rise for graduates.
Months of tense negotiations between the government and NSW Teachers Federation recently culminated with teachers rallying outside the offices of the premier, Chris Minns, and the deputy premier, Prue Car.
The federation was considering taking industrial action with the Independent Education Union (IEU) this month if a deal was not reached.
On Tuesday, Car confirmed that after “positive discussions” a four-year agreement had been offered, raising the starting salary for teachers from $75,791 to $85,000, and the highest salary from $113,042 to $122,100, from October.
Wages in the following three years will continue to rise in line with the NSW government’s wages policy, which will be revealed once the state budget is handed down next month.
The federation confirmed it had reached an in-principle agreement to back the “historic” pay deal after a meeting on Tuesday morning. It has recommended official endorsement be given at an upcoming council meeting on Saturday.
A previous offer, handed down last month, would have implemented a four-year agreement with a 2.5% wages cap from the second year, described as an “act of betrayal” by the federation’s president, Angelo Gavrielatos.
Gavrielatos was resolute a deal for a pay rise between 8% and 12% had been sealed with a “handshake and a hug” in May, after backing Labor in the lead-up to the state election.
In a testy press conference, Minns said if an agreement had been reached, it would have been “announced … to the people of NSW”.
Car said the government was “hopeful” the new agreement would be finalised later this week and see the state’s public teachers be among the best paid in the nation.
“Negotiating an outcome that demonstrates respect to teachers has always been my highest priority,” she said.
“In order to tackle the teacher shortage crisis we must restore respect to the teaching profession, so teachers are free to do their jobs without additional stress.
“While there is much more to do, today marks an important step forward as we continue working to rebuild our state’s education system.”
The federation’s acting president, Henry Rajendra, said it was a “historic advance” for the state’s education sector, representing the most “significant improvement to NSW teachers’ wages in decades”.
As part of the deal, school counsellors will also have their salaries boosted, recognising dual degrees and workforce shortages in their sector, and casuals will move to a three-step scale linked to the new full-time salary.
“The agreement we struck with the government has been resurrected and honoured.
The teacher shortage is a crisis that brewed for 12 long years,” Rajendra said.
“It can only be tackled by paying teachers what they are worth. The proposed agreement is a breakthrough moment.”
The IEU hailed the offer as “a way forward at last” for the embattled sector.
An agreement between the union and NSW Catholic dioceses means the salary increases to government schools will flow on to the Catholic system.
The NSW Greens’ education spokesperson, Tamara Smith, backed the offer and said the party would “be holding” the education minister to her commitment to reduce workloads.
After negotiations stalled earlier this year, Smith lodged a motion in parliament calling on the state government to return to the table in “good faith” to address “uncompetitive teacher salaries and unsustainable workloads”.
“Public school teachers in NSW are finally being valued for the work they do,” she said.
“I know so many teachers were heartbroken to see the Labor government go back on their word to deliver a real pay rise, so it is heartening to see that teachers’ passionate advocacy has been heard.
“Sixty per cent of teachers plan to leave the profession within the next five years – this is a crisis, and we need bold reform if we want to stop the chronic shortage of teachers in our schools.”
