The Guardian 4 June, 2008
NSW teachers’ campaign continues
On May 29 in Sydney 50 teachers — members of the NSW Teachers’ Federation, representing Inner City, Inner West, Canterbury Bankstown and Eastern Suburbs Teachers Associations met across the road from Carmel Tebbutt’s local member’s office to protest against her refusal to sign the Pledge which asks local members of parliament to lend assistance in the development of a negotiated industrial agreement on staffing that ensures the maintenance of teachers’ rights to transfer.
Ms Tebbutt, as the then Minister of Education and Training, spoke at March 2007 Council two weeks prior to the State election, saying:
"The staffing agreement makes sure that every classroom in NSW has a qualified teacher irrespective of where a school is situated. It is an agreement that has been modified over time to better reflect the changing nature of schooling, the demands of the community for greater involvement and the arguments that have been put forward by other education stakeholders.
"But teachers have security of tenure, transfer opportunities are an incentive to teach in difficult locations, and mobility across the service keeps teachers fresh and motivated."
Bernhard Huber, a teacher from Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design, lead the assembled teachers in songs including "Teach Your Children Well" and "Solidarity Forever".
After the speeches, the teachers marched up Illawarra Road to the honking of car horns and rallied outside Ms Tebbutt’s office.
Survey
Ten percent of teachers who responded to a survey conducted by the federation in May have an oversize class and over 20 percent of secondary teachers have been forced to teach outside their subject area.
These results indicate that there is a need for more in the system. The Federation has called for at least 1,000 more permanent teachers for a range of initiatives.
But the Iemma government’s phasing out of the statewide transfer system will, as the teacher shortage hits, make it even harder to staff some schools than is currently the case.
The statewide teacher transfer system encouraged teachers to move to areas of the state that are more difficult to staff. Phasing out that transfer system will mean that many teachers will no longer be willing to make the move.
Schools that are difficult to staff may not be able to attract sufficient teachers just as then Minister Tebbutt warned two weeks before the 2007 state election. Those school communities will be facing the prospect of rising class sizes or more secondary teachers filling in the gaps by teaching outside their subject area.
The Federation has notified the NSW Industrial Relations Commission that it intends to run an award case to protect the current class size ratios and school staffing entitlements.