ID :
205828
Wed, 09/07/2011 - 14:41
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Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/205828
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Defiant NSW teachers set to strike
SYDNEY (AAP) - 07 Sept - Thousands of defiant teachers will press ahead with strike action on Thursday, disregarding a direct ruling from the state's industrial umpire.
It signals the start of a fresh stoush between the NSW Teachers Federation (NSWTF) and the state government, which is threatening to fine the union.
About 750,000 students at 2200 public schools and TAFE colleges are expected to be affected as up to 67,000 teachers walk off the job over a 2.5 per cent cap on public sector wage rises.
Their 24-hour strike action directly defies an eleventh-hour ruling from NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) judge Justice Frances Backman.
Shortly before 3pm (AEST) on Wednesday, Justice Backman ordered all NSWTF members to halt their industrial action for 48 hours to best serve the public interest.
But the union vowed to push on with the strike.
"Teachers cannot stand by and allow their salaries and working conditions to be cut by unjust laws," NSWTF president Bob Lipscombe said in a statement.
"NSW Teachers Federation members will proceed on strike tomorrow and join with nurses, firefighters, police and other public sector workers in rallies against the unjust O'Farrell government industrial legislation."
Education Minister Adrian Piccoli warned the union may be fined if the "illegal" strike goes ahead.
"The IRC has made an order today, if the Teachers Federation chooses to defy it then obviously the Department of Education and the government has rights which we'll be pursuing if industrial action still goes ahead," he told reporters.
He urged teachers to remain in school but said they would not be sacked if they did strike.
The education department has published a list of hundreds of schools that will be shut, or offer students only minimal supervision.
Earlier, NSWTF solicitor Neal Dawson told the IRC that cancelling the strike at such late notice would cause more disruption than letting them proceed.
"It will only create unnecessary grief and confusion with parents if the order is made," he told the hearing in Sydney.
But Justice Backman said that by making the order the potential for disruption would be reduced "possibly substantially" and best served the public interest.
The education department brought about Wednesday's IRC hearing as a last-ditch attempt to avert the strikes, having failed in a similar bid on Tuesday.
Education department director of industrial relations Mark Philip said the department would use media, the internet and other means to inform the community the strike was off, in the hope of getting as many students as possible into school.
Some of the teachers will join nurses, firefighters, police and other public servants at a rally in Sydney's Domain from 11.30am (AEST).
They are protesting a 2.5 per cent cap on public sector wage rises, which they say will result in a real-term pay cut, once inflation had been taken into account.
It signals the start of a fresh stoush between the NSW Teachers Federation (NSWTF) and the state government, which is threatening to fine the union.
About 750,000 students at 2200 public schools and TAFE colleges are expected to be affected as up to 67,000 teachers walk off the job over a 2.5 per cent cap on public sector wage rises.
Their 24-hour strike action directly defies an eleventh-hour ruling from NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) judge Justice Frances Backman.
Shortly before 3pm (AEST) on Wednesday, Justice Backman ordered all NSWTF members to halt their industrial action for 48 hours to best serve the public interest.
But the union vowed to push on with the strike.
"Teachers cannot stand by and allow their salaries and working conditions to be cut by unjust laws," NSWTF president Bob Lipscombe said in a statement.
"NSW Teachers Federation members will proceed on strike tomorrow and join with nurses, firefighters, police and other public sector workers in rallies against the unjust O'Farrell government industrial legislation."
Education Minister Adrian Piccoli warned the union may be fined if the "illegal" strike goes ahead.
"The IRC has made an order today, if the Teachers Federation chooses to defy it then obviously the Department of Education and the government has rights which we'll be pursuing if industrial action still goes ahead," he told reporters.
He urged teachers to remain in school but said they would not be sacked if they did strike.
The education department has published a list of hundreds of schools that will be shut, or offer students only minimal supervision.
Earlier, NSWTF solicitor Neal Dawson told the IRC that cancelling the strike at such late notice would cause more disruption than letting them proceed.
"It will only create unnecessary grief and confusion with parents if the order is made," he told the hearing in Sydney.
But Justice Backman said that by making the order the potential for disruption would be reduced "possibly substantially" and best served the public interest.
The education department brought about Wednesday's IRC hearing as a last-ditch attempt to avert the strikes, having failed in a similar bid on Tuesday.
Education department director of industrial relations Mark Philip said the department would use media, the internet and other means to inform the community the strike was off, in the hope of getting as many students as possible into school.
Some of the teachers will join nurses, firefighters, police and other public servants at a rally in Sydney's Domain from 11.30am (AEST).
They are protesting a 2.5 per cent cap on public sector wage rises, which they say will result in a real-term pay cut, once inflation had been taken into account.
