Even before school resumes, teacher burnout a concern for Gong-based union boss

While state school teachers indeed received a historic pay rise back in October 2023, the Wollongong-based union president Henry Rajendra says it is not a panacea for all the problems facing teachers.

New figures have revealed hundreds of vacancies in the state's public school system with 175 high schools are struggling to find English and mathematics teachers.

That data suggested Illawarra schools were not in as dire a position as some, but still affected with 32 vacancies across 87 state schools in the region during term four 2023.

"More than a third had at least one vacancy," Mr Rajendra said.

And that's not all, teachers across the Illawarra are continuing to retire prematurely, Mr Rajendra said.

"We're losing teachers well before retirement age due to the unmanageable workloads and the burden of admin duties," he explained.

"For some, the insecure employment that blew out of all proportion under the previous government, is a factor, too."

The damning statistic in this regard, he says, is the disparity in temporary and permanent teacher numbers.

"Temporary teacher numbers increased by over 83 per cent since 2011 while permanent teacher numbers increased by only one per cent," he said.

After almost 2000 teachers resigned from NSW public schools in 2022, the Minns government pledged to stop the drain and vowed to convert thousands of temporary teachers and school-based support staff to permanent contracts by the start of term 4, 2024.

The agreement to make NSW teachers the best paid in the country is "an important step in addressing teachers shortage", Mr Radjendra said.

"But it's not enough.

"There is no question about the dedication and commitment of our teachers and our teachers are looking forward to students returning to school this week.

"But they need greater support from the government to ensure the quality of education is at its highest and also teacher well-being is a priority."

The existing teachers' award expires in October 2024.

Mr Radjendra, who has been the acting federation president since August, steps up into the position vacated by outgoing president Angelo Gavrielatos as of today, January 30, 2024.

He's not the only leading union boss from Wollongong.

Together with the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association's general secretary Shaye Candish, the pair represent more than 130,000 workers.