Tensions between the NSW government and teachers reached a flashpoint this morning when about 40 staff walked out of a Sydney school moments before the arrival of Premier Dominic Perrottet.
Mr Perrottet this morning visited the Meadowbank Education and Employment Precinct, in Sydney's north-west, to mark the first day of the new school term.
The teachers walked out of Marsden High School, which is part of the precinct, with some holding signs that read "More than thanks".
No students were at the school, with classes starting tomorrow.
Mr Perrottet held a press conference at Meadowbank Public School, which is also part of the precinct, but no teachers from that school staged a walkout with students returning to classrooms today.
Yesterday, the NSW Teachers' Federation decided unanimously to take industrial action over what it said were unmanageable workloads and low wages.
Teachers across the state will go on strike for 24 hours next Wednesday.
But the NSW Teachers' Federation has also authorised teaching staff to walk off school grounds if a NSW government MP enters, and they have put an immediate ban on the implementation of new Department of Education policies.
The industrial action comes amid an ongoing dispute with the NSW government over its legislated 2.5 per cent cap on public sector wages.
The state government is negotiating a 2.04 per cent wage increase for teachers but the NSW Teachers' Federation is pushing for an increase of up to 7.5 per cent.
Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos yesterday said the government's current wage offer did not even keep pace with inflation.
"At a time when inflation is running at 3.5 per cent and predicted to grow, this would constitute a cut to teachers' real income," he said.
"Acting on uncompetitive salaries and unsustainable workloads is the only way to stop more teachers leaving and attract the people into the profession we need to fix the shortages."
Mr Perrottet this morning said he was working through pay concerns with the teachers' union and the Education Minister.
"We're going through those issues in a structured way to have a result that is fair and reasonable... and understands the position the state is in after a one-in-100-year pandemic," Mr Perrottet said.
"Queensland and NSW are the only states who have had two-and-a-half per cent pay increases over the last 10 years. We lead the way...but where we can do more we will."
He accused the Labor Party and union movement of "playing politics" with teachers and parents and asked all public sectors to give them time to consider pay issues.
"Let us work through issues as we said we will, and then take action," Mr Perrottet said.
"The politics of our children and parents being played on the first day of term two when we've made it very clear we're working through these issues is very unfair."
Mr Perrottet admitted there was a teacher shortage, but said it was a "complex issue".
"We need the people...it's a real challenge. It's not unique to the teaching profession, it's nurses, police, right across the board," he said.
"This is a real challenge for our state, and we need to be working on that in conjunction with the federal government."
Parents dropping their children off at Meadowbank Public School this morning were largely supportive of the planned 24-hour strike.
Zoe Williamson said she believed teachers had few alternatives.
"If you're trying to make a point and people aren't listening you've got to keep making the point," she said.
Sweta Bagla agreed and said she did not think the strike would impact students.
"I work for [NSW] Ambulance and we've had the paramedics on strike, I was working for [NSW] Health before and we had the nurses on strike, so these things happen," she said.
"I think we all need to work for [their] rights and we'll see what the government can do for us."
Another mother said the strike was disruptive but she understood the reasons behind it.
"I'm a bit annoyed, to be honest," the woman said.
"We've just come off the back of a couple of weeks of school holidays but at the same time teachers deserve to be paid fairly."
NSW teachers went on a 24-hour state-wide strike in December last year.
