Principals and teachers from throughout the Hunter will stand together as one today to address the worrying issues of being over-worked and under-paid.

As new figures show the number of vacant permanent positions in NSW has increased to more than 3,000, they’ll join forces with colleagues far and wide in a state-wide strike on Tuesday 7 December.

A large number of local educators will also travel by bus, train and car for a rally in Sydney, leaving McDonald Jones Stadium at 6.35am.

NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said the NSW Government had made no effort to address the unsustainable workloads and uncompetitive salaries that were leading to growing shortages across NSW.

Department of Education statistics reveal that of the 44,500 permanent teaching positions in NSW public schools, 3,038 were vacant in mid-November.

That’s more than double the 995 recorded in June.

“Those from the inner west to the far west are telling us they just can’t find the full-time and casual teachers they need,” Mr Gavrielatos said.

“In western and south-western Sydney where student needs are the highest, the vacancy rates are also the highest.

“The NSW Government is concerned about children missing out for one day, but we are concerned about children missing out every day because there simply aren’t enough teachers.

“If we don’t pay teachers what they are worth, we won’t get the teachers we need.

“The workloads of teachers are unmanageable and the government’s 10-year wages cap means the salary they earn doesn’t reflect the skills or responsibilities they have.”

Mr Gavrielatos said there was no coherent strategy in the NSW Government to fix the crisis either.

“An investment in teachers through higher wages has been shown in national and international research to improve the attraction and retention of teachers,” he stated.

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