Myall Coast Public School teachers will join almost 50,000 NSW colleagues attending stop-work meetings across the state this Thursday 8 December.

Details of a new Salaries and Conditions Award will be given via a televised broadcast and teachers will also vote on whether to accept an offer from the Department of Education.

Teachers’ pay increases have been limited to 2.5 per cent by the NSW Government despite negotiations by the Teachers Federation to lift the cap.

The union opposes the government’s current Public Sector Wages Policy that limits salary increases unless working conditions are traded off to fund the pay rise.

NSW Teachers Federation Representative and Bulahdelah Central School teacher Pam Gollan said protecting teachers’ salaries and working conditions was important for meeting the educational needs of students.

“If we don’t protect our working conditions, we could end up with increased class sizes and overworked teachers which really takes a lot out of the focus and engagement of students’ learning outcomes,” she said.

“Those things are really important so it’s not all about the teachers, it’s about the students in the long run.”

Mrs Gollan told News Of The Area the inconvenience to students and parents is always taken into account when planning stop-work meetings.

“What this means is schools will remain open with minimal supervision for one-hour while Federation Members attend the meetings,” she said.

“Schools will resume normal classes following the meetings.”

Mrs Gollan said she was unsure at this stage if there would be further industrial action in the new year.

Locally, teachers will attend stop-work meetings at venues in Tea Gardens, Karuah and Bulahdelah commencing at 8.45am.

By Daniel SAHYOUN