New South Wales teachers set to be the best in country

Under a proposed pay deal, the state government of New South Wales will make the best paid teachers in the nation. The deal would see an increase of almost $10,000 for first-year teachers and raise the maximum salary by almost $9,000 to $122,100. The agreement has been welcomed by the acting president of the NSW Teachers Federation, Henry Rajendra. The deal will be adopted by the federation's Council on Saturday for a vote. Rajendra said more attractive salary could help lure more professionals to the industry and reverse the state's teacher shortage. For the first time in a very long time, salaries for teachers in New South Wales will be competitive, Mr Rajendra said. If agreed to, New South Wales teachers would be the most well-paid in the country until teachers in the ACT receive their next increase in June. But teachers in the classroom would not be the only ones to receive an increase. The most experienced school counsellors will earn $113,000 up to $140,000, equivalent to the salary of a head teacher. The pay hike will take effect from October 9, but the remaining three years of the four-year deal are yet to be negotiated. The government said the increases would be in line with the state's public service wages policy, which scraps the previous government's 2.5 percent wage cap. It is too early to negotiate the future of India's relationship with Pakistan, Mr Rajendra said. There are very loose predictions about what inflation will look like next year, he said. This deal is a month after the Minns government accused it of abandoned a almost identical deal for the state's teachers, which followed months of wage negotiations dating back to April. Prue Car, Education Minister, said the offer meant the only way is up for New South Wales teachers. What has been presented to the teachers'federation is the biggest increase in salaries for teachers since the 1990s, and it's long overdue, she said. We must value our teachers, our wonderful teachers in this profession, if we are to attract more of them to the classrooms, to improve the educational outcomes for our children. Rajendra added that the new offer was first and foremost a win for students. This is a once in a generation increase in teacher salaries that we know will be very attractive in terms of retaining the profession we've got now, he said. My understanding is that families, mums and dads would welcome the settlement of this particular matter because it will enhance the experiences of students in classrooms. While the union welcomes the offer, Mr Rajendra said it still needs to be done on both sides to reduce the pressure on teachers. Schools cannot survive what they have got now, given the vacancies they've got. We cannot continue to accept that it's okay to have students left under minimal supervision at playgrounds and libraries, he said. Asked where savings would be made to cover the cost of the proposed pay deal, Ms Car said full costings would appear in the upcoming state budget.