Teachers Federation members at Deniliquin South Public School, Edward Public School and Deniliquin High School have walked off the job over the impact the state-wide shortage of teachers is having on their school.
NSW Teachers Federation Deputy President Henry Rajendra said staff walked out because the Education Department had failed to adequately address the staffing crisis and left schools with difficulty accessing permanent and casual teachers.
"There is a dire shortage of casual teachers in Deniliquin which is impacting heavily on all schools in the area," Mr Rajendra said.
"The crisis in staffing has meant that at both Deniliquin South Public School and Edward Public School large numbers of classes have been collapsed and programs disrupted because casuals are not available and the NSW Education Department has failed to provide additional teachers to cover for teachers who are on leave."
"Our members at all these schools have called for the establishment of Government-funded inbuilt relief programs for schools. This employment of additional permanent teachers is necessary for these schools and for all schools across the state.
"Staff at Deniliquin High are fed up with the additional workload in the form of extra teaching periods which they are assigned to teach when no casual teachers are available."
"The High School, since the beginning of 2021, has had five vacant teaching positions which the NSW Education Department still has not filled
"They are very concerned about the impact on students after an increase in class sizes brought about by the failure of the NSW Government to attract and retain teachers in rural and regional schools."
Mr Rajendra said the Gallop Inquiry into the work of teachers found earlier this year that uncompetitive salaries for teachers and unsustainable workloads are leading to teacher shortages."
"The workloads of teachers have increased every year, but their salaries have fallen every year compared to other professions."
"You can't fix the shortages without fixing the wages and workload problem."
"If we don't pay teachers what they are worth, we won't get the teachers we need."
