Four thousand Technical and Further Education (TAFE) teachers and supporters from across NSW rallied outside Parliament House in Macquarie Street today.
The particpants voted unanimously to continue their campaign to ensure the NSW government delivers proper salary increases without destroying the quality of TAFE education in the state.
The government wants to increase teaching hours and take away professional development opportunitties.
In total, they want to fund a $15 million salary increase for teachers by making $50 million of cuts in conditions and services.
Teachers at TAFE are the people who train our plumbers, electricians, engineers, hairdressers, hospitality workers, technical people, library support staff, child care workers.....and hundreds more groups of workers. They also offer opportunitites for second-chance education.
They are the engine room of productivity and the Australian economy, trainign and educating our workforce. Yet the government looks to this group of workers to solve their own budgetary black holes.
I am in sympathy with these teachers. I used to teach seniors commercial art in the largest and newest vocational school in this part of Ohio and met some wonderful students. We were underpaid and over worked and had way too many supervisors -- those who could not teach but had a degree saying they were qualified teachers. They hire them by the boatload to make the staff numbers look great.
ReplyDeleteAbraham Lincoln
Problem here too. No money for education it all went to the bankers.
ReplyDeleteSydney's silly Sally sighted striking salary sickened supporters shouting!
ReplyDeleteAh, some street demonstrators ! This could be France!
ReplyDelete