Teachers who will walk out of the classroom on Thursday, June 30, say they are crumbling under crippling workloads and have been left with no choice but to take action.
The planned industrial action follows from a previous schools' strike on May 4.
The decision to take 24-hour joint strike action was made after a historic joint meeting between the executives of the NSW Teachers Federation and the Independent Education Union of Australia (NSW/ACT). Members of both unions will rally in Macquarie Street, Sydney.
NSW Teachers Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos said marching together would be a "massive demonstration of unity and commitment."
Vice President of St George Teachers Association, Glenn Hokin, says teachers are making the move to protect the right of their students to have a quality education.
"The intransigence of this government has created the chaos and disruption that is impacting our students each and every day," he said. "The government has long been aware of the teacher shortage with the minister stating last year that it was keeping her awake at night. Yet all we see is rhetoric and insults rather than any real action to address the problem. In the meantime, students across St George are being disadvantaged by the teacher shortage each day."
Mr Hokin said the government had ignored the recommendations of the independent Gallop inquiry. "Contrary to their claims, they have not delivered a meaningful reduction in teacher workload," he said. "Teachers understand that delivering the quality education that our students deserve, requires time to collaborate, plan and differentiate the learning to meet the diverse needs of our students."
He says the salary of teachers has fallen relative to other comparable professions, impacting the ability to attract and retain teachers. "With inflation running at over 5 per cent and expected to reach 7 per cent by the end of the year, the position of the government will only serve to exacerbate the teacher shortage crisis," he said.
"Teachers will come together on Thursday to send a clear message that we will continue to take appropriate action to secure the working and learning conditions that our students and teachers deserve."
On June 6, the NSW Government offered a three per cent pay increase to public sector workers, including teachers, in 2022-23. But public sector unions and their members rejected the revised policy, stating that it failed to stop what they said was a dramatic decline in real wages.
The NSW Government's record investment as part of the 2022-23 NSW Budget allocates $1.6 billion including towards funding to continue the investment in growing and developing the teaching workforce, through initiatives including the Teacher Supply Strategy.
"We know the importance of our teachers, which is why we are focusing on our Quality Time program to reduce administration and stepping up efforts to work with teachers to modernise and streamline their day-to-day work," Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said.
"NSW teachers are-world class, and we will continue to invest in opportunities to not only attract and retain our best teachers but provide them with a rewarding career."
Nurses and midwives are also up in arms and stepping up their stance, over concerns that an urgent need for shift by shift staffing ratios is not being addressed to the full extent.
NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA Acting General Secretary, Shaye Candish, said many questions remained unanswered following the Budget announcement, regarding the actual number of full-time equivalent nurses and midwives to be added to the workforce, given Local Health Districts would be given funds to spend at their discretion.
"There is no guarantee that the government's 'health workforce boost' will be utilised to plug gaps in the staffing rosters now," she said.
