Loads of high school teachers from a school in north-west Sydney walked off campus just before NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet rocked up on Wednesday.
Around 40 staff from Marsden High School in north-west Sydney scooted out when Perrottet visited the Meadowbank Education and Employment Precinct.
The Precinct also has another school, Meadowbank Public School. Perrottet held a press conference there but none of those teachers staged a walk out.
There were no students at Marsden High School on Wednesday, but there were students at Meadowbank Public School according to the ABC.
The walk-out is part of a wider campaign by teachers for a pay rise of 5 to 7.5 per cent. You’d think given the massive effort teachers have put in throughout the pandemic to keep young people afloat, we’d be celebrating them. But no!
It’s part of a wider strike planned for next Wednesday, May 4. The state council for NSW Teachers Federation voted to hold a 24-hour strike over pay disputes and huge workloads.
As part of the strike, the union has said its members can walk off school grounds if NSW Government MPs rock up.
“One of the most fundamental roles of a government is to ensure there is a qualified teacher in every classroom with the time and support to meet the needs of each child,” said Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos in a statement when the strike was announced.
“We suspended our industrial campaign in term one giving the Premier an opportunity to enter genuine negotiations. The Premier failed to act on that opportunity,” he said.
“In doing so, the Perrottet Government has failed our students, their parents and the profession.”
For his part, Perrottet criticised the strike when it was announced.
“It’s been a very disruptive two years for our parents and that’s why it’s disappointing that they’re choosing to strike,” he said as per 9News.
The NSW Government has said it’s trying to negotiate with the union.
When Dominic Perrottet rocked up at the Meadowbank Education and Employment Precinct, teachers walked out holding placards with the campaign’s offical slogan “More Than Thanks”.
But Perrottet said the union’s actions were “playing politics” with students and parents.
Teachers from Meadowbank High School have walked off grounds as the Premier @Dom_Perrottet arrived to visit – as part of industrial action calling for a 5% + pay rise. Will strike next week. pic.twitter.com/mI6UDGyYJx
— Liz Daniels (@lizziedaniels) April 26, 2022
Teachers at Marsden High School have walked out as Premier Dominic Perrottet and Education MP Sarah Mitchell arrived on site.
The move is a part of industrial action announced by the Teachers Federation, that gave educators the ability to walk offsite if a MP visits. #nswpol pic.twitter.com/EvNhN9nGZa
— 10 News First Sydney (@10NewsFirstSyd) April 27, 2022
But teachers aren’t the first essential workers to go on strike in NSW over the last year. In fact, teachers and transport workers both went on strike in December of 2021.
Plus nurses across the state have gone on strike this year to call for better conditions and better pay.
I dunno, it’s almost like these workers are essential to the functioning of our society so maybe they should be treated better and paid fairly? Particularly after two years of a pandemic and undue stress? What a novel idea.
