NSW Teachers Federation members at Great Lakes College Forster Campus (GLCFC) have walked off the job over the NSW Government's failure to properly staff their school and other public schools in rural and remote parts of the state.
NSW Teachers Federation Deputy President Henry Rajendra said staff at Great Lakes College Forster Campus were concerned their school had been impacted by the shortage of casual teachers which had led to the disruption of classes.
"Teachers are fed up with having to cover classes where no casual teachers are available," Mr Rajendra said.
"This is impacting on teaching and learning and is yet another example of the current staffing crisis in our schools."
Mr Rajendra said in Term 2 alone, GLCFC has been forced to collapse classes on 62 occasions. Another 63 classes have been cancelled and placed on minimal supervision.
"There are too many classes being disrupted because the NSW Government has failed to meet its obligation to provide an appropriately qualified teacher for every class," he said.
"Teachers at the school are also calling on the NSW Government to appoint additional permanent staff to the school to facilitate inbuilt relief and ensure no class is cancelled."
"There are unfilled positions at schools across the state which must be filled if we are to continue to provide our students with the best possible education."
"To do otherwise would be unfair to students, especially in remote and regional areas and impact on staff morale and well-being."
"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."
