The Independent Education Union rejects calls by the NSW Premier to rely on retired teachers and fast-track professional accreditation for final-year students and support staff. Governments both state and federal are scrambling to fill workforce gaps for which they failed to plan.
“Yet again, the Premier has made a media announcement without any genuine consultation with school staff through their representative unions,” said IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Acting Secretary Michael Wright. “Our members are angry and are calling out the cavalier attitude of the NSW Government.”
The Independent Education Union of Australia (NSW/ACT Branch), which represents over 32,000 teachers and support staff in non-government schools, believes returning retired teachers to schools is expecting a vulnerable group to step into the frontline.
“Fast-tracking accreditation is also fraught,” Wright said. “Support staff undertake work that is essential for schools to function – rushing them into classrooms will only create different shortages.
“There is a clear risk here of undermining the teaching profession, and the consequences will only fall on students. New teachers would be thrown in the deep end without support.”
As we await
