Coffs Coast Teachers Rally Again To Protest Lack Of Negotiation Coffs Coast Nambucca Valley by News Of The Area - Modern Media - May 15, 2022 Ian Watson addresses Coffs Coast teachers at the Showgrounds. MORE than 1500 Coffs Coast teachers rallied at the Coffs Harbour Showgrounds on Wednesday the 4 May in protest at what they say is an unwillingness by the NSW Government to negotiate with the NSW Teachers’ Federation. Ian Watson, the Regional Coordinator for the Federation told News Of The Area, “There are no negotiations – the Government has sat down to one meeting in eighteen months.” Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au He said the last teachers’ rally was an opportunity for there to be negotiations. “However, we’ve heard nothing,” he said. The Premier of NSW, Dominic Perrottet, and the Minister for Education, Sarah Mitchell, said teacher salaries will be discussed when framing the next budget, but this is not acceptable to the rallying teachers. News Of The Area spoke with a secondary teacher who wished to remain anonymous. He said, “I’ve been 30 years in the business. “With the amount of extra work that young people have it’s no wonder that they are leaving the profession. “Every day there are two or three classes being covered by one teacher at my school. “When I first moved to the area, it took people ten years to get a job, and now they can’t fill positions!,” he said. The main Showground pavilion was a sea of red as teachers crammed in to hear a number of speakers. Many sounded angry and spoke about staff shortages (leading to teachers taking classes for which they are not trained and classes being inadequately supervised), extra, unnecessary work for accountability and that the government is not listening. One speaker said, “The Government has taken advantage of our passion for the profession for too long.” The teachers listened to the Federation President, Angelo Gavrielatos, streamed on a large screen from Sydney, before assembling for a march around the town centre. The marchers could be heard chanting “What do we want?”, “More than thanks”, “When do we want it?”, “Now!”. By Andrew VIVIAN
