Premier Chris Minns has denied reneging on a one-year pay agreement with the state’s teachers as tensions between the government and unhappy educators continue to escalate.
NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos last week accused the government of “an act of betrayal” after negotiations over a new pay deal collapsed.
Premier Chris Minns has rejected claims he went back on a pay agreement with the NSW Teachers Federation.Credit: Nick Moir
The outgoing union boss insisted the parties had reached a deal, sealed with a “handshake and a hug” for a one-year wage agreement of pay rises between 8 and 12 per cent that would have made NSW teachers among the highest paid in the country.
But that offer, Gavrielatos said, was reneged on, with the government later insisting on a four-year agreement that would limit rises to 2.5 per cent for the remaining three years of the deal.
The 2.5 per cent offer angered key figures in the union movement, with the head of Unions NSW Mark Morey comparing it to the former Coalition government’s controversial wages cap and warning Labor risked losing public sector workers who helped elect the party in March.
But on Tuesday Minns insisted there had been no agreement with the Teachers Federation and dismissed any comparisons to the previous government’s wages cap, calling it “wilfully ignorant”.
Teachers are upset with Premier Chris Minns and Education Minister Prue Car, for allegedly reneging on a pay deal.Credit: AAP
Minns said the “generous” pay offer had to be affordable and pointed to Reserve Bank projections of falling inflation from 2024 as evidence the offer was fair.
“Obviously, we haven’t had an agreement with them. If we did have an agreement, we would have announced that to the people in NSW,” he said.
“We want to be in a position where we can offer, particularly first-year teachers, a generous increase so that we can recruit people to this important profession.
“As far as a multi-year deal, that’s important from the perspective of the state because if there’s going to be a structural adjustment or big increase in pay in year one, we need to make sure it’s affordable in years two, three and four.”
Gavrielatos has promised a campaign of political action by teachers, and Minns got his first taste of that when he was heckled while boarding a plane in Griffith this week.
But the premier insisted negotiations with the union would continue, saying he was not “trying to hold a gun to anybody’s head”.
“Let’s give peace a chance to get around that table and see if we can do a deal,” he said.
Meanwhile, the NSW Nurses and Midwives Union accepted a one-year, 4 per cent pay offer from the government despite 42 per cent of members voting against it.
‘The vote on this pay offer has been close, and it reflects the economic and political environment we find ourselves in.’
Michael Thwaites, assistant general secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Union
Michael Whaites, the union’s Assistant General Secretary, said many of his members “felt the offer didn’t acknowledge their expertise, dedication, or the tireless contribution they make to the state’s public health system”.
“This offer fell short of our 2023 award claim and for many, accepting the one-year offer was a reflection that they will take the 4 per cent now, but more is needed,” he said.
“The vote on this pay offer has been close, and it reflects the economic and political environment we find ourselves in.”
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.