O'FARRELL MUST RESOLVE DISPUTE WITH TEACHERS BEFORE INDUSTRIAL ACTION TOMORROW

Thursday, 17 May 2012

Premier Barry O'Farrell must sit down and resolve the dispute with NSW teachers before planned industrial action goes ahead tomorrow, Shadow Minister for Education and Training, Carmel Tebbutt said today.

"Education Minister Adrian Piccoli is clearly incapable of managing the education portfolio and maintaining a harmonious relationship with stakeholders. It's time for the Premier to step in," Ms Tebbutt said today.

"I'm calling on the Premier to sit down and negotiate to resolve this dispute with teachers before Friday's planned stop work meeting goes ahead.

"The O'Farrell Government has refused to provide any key details or costings of the Local Schools, Local Decisions policy that would allay the fears of parents, teachers and students.

"The community has very real concerns this policy will see school budgets cut and principals forced to find savings by cutting permanent teaching staff.

"The Education Minister has point blank refused to guarantee schools will not replace permanent, experienced teachers with cheaper graduate and temporary teachers.

"Students need continuity of teachers, who know and understand their needs and have an ongoing connection to the school community. It's very hard to achieve this with temporary teachers who don't know from one week to the next whether they will remain at the school.

"The O'Farrell Government needs to give a clear commitment that Local Schools, Local Decisions will not result in reduced funding for schools, larger class sizes and more temporary teachers in schools.

"The Premier needs to step in and resolve this issue now to ensure schools remain places of learning, instead of sites of industrial action."