TAFE teachers at 60 colleges across NSW are on strike, escalating a campaign to secure better wages and branding the government's offer as an actual pay cut.
The NSW Teachers Federation says members will protest on Wednesday at 10am outside TAFE head office at Ultimo in Sydney.
The union says its campaign has escalated because of "the failure of the Perrottet government to negotiate a replacement TAFE Teachers Enterprise Agreement".
Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos said delivering a real wage cut to TAFE teachers would worsen the workload and attractiveness of the sector as a career option.
"Over the last 10 years, state government policies have deliberately run-down TAFE contributing to the skills crisis in NSW," he said on Wednesday.
"In 2012 TAFE NSW employed more than 17,000 teachers and related education employees. In 2022 that number has declined to just 8197."
The removal of support staff had led to TAFE teachers' administrative workload increasing, prompting many to leave the profession, he said.
"TAFE teacher salaries haven't kept pace with the cost of living.
"With inflation sitting at more than six per cent and growing, the government's pay offer to the TAFE sector represents a pay cut.
TAFE teachers rejected the government's "insulting" enterprise agreement offer in August and are demanding negotiations on "increased permanency, sustainable workloads and fair and just salary increases".
