Thousands of teachers in both the catholic and public sector will walk off the job next week over unified dissatisfaction with the NSW Government's believed inaction to address ongoing teacher shortages.

On Tuesday 21 June, executives of the NSW Teachers Federation (NSWTF) and the NSW/ACT branch of the Independent Education Union of Australia (IEUA) met and decided to hold an unprecedented full-day joint strike action on Thursday 30 June.

This follows individual state-wide strike actions from the both the NSWTF on Wednesday 4 May and IEUA on Friday 27 May.

Read more: Catholic school teachers to strike

Regional teachers to strike again

NSW Teachers Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos said both unions came to the conclusion that the government "has its head in the sand" when it came to the teacher shortage.

“Acting on uncompetitive salaries and unsustainable workloads is the only way to stop more teachers leaving and attract the people into the profession we need to fix the shortages," Mr Gavrielatos said.

“We asked the Premier to reconsider his decision to cap the pay of teachers at three per cent when inflation is more than five per cent and rising. Yet, he did nothing.”

The NSW government maintains that public school teacher salaries are competitive with those offered by other state education systems, with the salary of a classroom teacher at the top of the scale having increased by $25,219 since 2011, representing a 29.75 per cent increase.

In addition, the Department of Education offers attractive leave conditions and a range of other financial incentives to teachers.

When approached for comment about the strike, a Department of Education spokesperson said they urged the unions to reconsider the planned strike action.

"Parents and carers want their children in school and no one needs another day out of the classroom, especially after the challenges of COVID and flooding in Term 1 and the previous strike in Term 2," the spokesperson said.

The best place for students is at school, for both their education and wellbeing.  

"We call on the NSW Teacher’s Federation to call off the strike action, especially considering the NSW Government’s announcement in the Budget of a boost to the salary increase offered to public sector workers under its wages policy.

However, Mr Gavrielatos said the budget, which was also released on Tuesday and included a wages increase to public sector employees of 3 per cent in each of the next two years, had done nothing to address the "crippling workloads" in the teacher profession.

ABOVE: NSWTF President Angelo Gavrielatos and IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Mark Northam announced the unprecedented strike in a press conference this week. Image: IEUA.

“Our unions are united in opposition to an inept government that has failed to address unacceptable workloads and teacher shortages," he said.

IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Mark Northam, meanwhile, said catholic diocesan school employers follow the government's lead on salaries, even though they are not legally bound to do so, meaning they were facing the same crisis.

“The IEUA’s current bargaining for enterprise agreements for teachers and support staff is directly impacted by today’s decision by the NSW Government," he said.

“The sharply rising cost of living, lack of real wages growth, ever-increasing workloads and the pandemic have caused crippling staff shortages in Catholic schools – our members are exhausted and burnt out. The profession is at breaking point."

In the initial IEUA strike action in May, members from 537 catholic schools across NSW and ACT had the right to strike following a ballot of all members.

However, it is understood that another 26 schools are currently being balloted again and, if all members vote in favour of the joint strike, 563 out of a total of 597 schools may be affected.

When asked what would happen at schools, should the industrial action indeed go ahead, the department spokesperson said minimal supervision would be provided where possible to mitigate disruption in the classroom.

"Every effort should be made by principals to ensure schools remain open during the action, however we do expect some schools to close during the strike," the spokesperson said.

"Where minimum supervision is provided, supervision must be adequate to meet the safety needs of students and staff."

The main rally on 30 June will be held in Macquarie Street in Sydney, as well as in regional locations across NSW and the ACT.

Although an official list of locations has not been released by either union at this stage, the Western Plains App understands a rally will be held in Dubbo, the main central west location for both previous individual strike actions.

In addition, members who cannot make their way to a larger rally are invited to instead host or travel to smaller ones their own or neighbouring communities.

Regardless of the location, both Mr Gavrielatos and Mr Northam said the concerns of all their members would be heard across the state.

“Marching together will be a massive demonstration of unity and commitment – one profession, one voice,” Mr Gavrielatos said.

“This is an extraordinary moment,” Mr Northam said. “We are standing shoulder-to-shoulder because fixing the education crisis in NSW demands no less."