PUBLIC school teachers in the Highlands have threatened to continue strike action to the end of the year and into 2009 unless their appeal for better pay and maintaining current staffing arrangements were met.

Teachers went off work for two hours yesterday to attend Sky Channel meetings around NSW, forcing some schools to be shut down for the day while others required departmental supervision.

Two meetings were held in the Highlands, at Mittagong RSL and Moss Vale Services Club.

NSW Teachers Federation regional organiser Nicole Calnan said early signs indicated the meetings were strongly supported by teachers around the state.

Ms Calnan said the meetings raised several issues the Federation wanted to address to help lift working conditions for teachers around NSW.

“Teachers will not accept dismantling an effective system of statewide school staffing and transfers. We seek an end to the staffing dispute- an issue that has been going on all year,” she said.

“We also want to ensure the salary of teachers remain professional. We have lobbied for a five per cent per annum salary increase.

“But the Department has only budgeted for a 2.5 per cent increase, which results in a cut to living standards when inflation currently stands at 4.5 per cent.”

Ms Calnan said the government had also attacked the integrity and professionalism of teachers in the TAFE system.

The Federation was protesting against removing the requirement of TAFE teachers to have university level teacher education qualifications fearing lowering standards of education.

Acting Education Minister John Hatzistergos said the strike held “students to ransom” and the teacher transfer system was a success.

For the full story see the Southern Highland News, Friday, September 5

vas.v@ruralpress.com