Comment | Bay Post-Moruya Examiner

NSW teachers could soon be some of the best paid in the country after the government and the union struck an in-principle deal for a significant wage hike. Following an increasingly bitter pay dispute, NSW Teachers Federation officials are recommending members accept an offer including a major first-year pay bump. Under the proposed deal, which will be put to the union's state council on Saturday, all teachers will get an initial pay increase of up to $10,000 per year. The starting salary for first-year teachers will go from $75,791 to $85,000 - an increase of more than 12 per cent. Salaries for teachers at the top of the scale will rise from $113,042 to $122,100, an eight per cent increase. Casual teacher and school counsellor rates will also be lifted, while a controversial 2.5 per cent cap on pay rises in the subsequent three years of a four-year agreement has been shelved. Union leaders will recommend the state council endorse the deal at the upcoming meeting. NSW Teachers Federation acting president Henry Rajendra said the agreement was a "historic advance" with children the ultimate beneficiaries if approved. "The teacher shortage is a crisis that brewed for 12 long years, it can only be tackled by paying teachers what they are worth," he said. "The proposed agreement is a breakthrough moment. "We will attract and retain more hardworking teachers and prevent them drifting to other professions or states." The government said the deal would mean the state's teachers went from being among the country's worst-paid classroom leaders to its best-paid. Talks will continue on what pay increases teachers can expect for the remainder of the four-year period after the government walked back its 2.5 per cent offer. The union effectively rejected being locked into the figure, which it argued mirrored the former coalition government's public-sector wage cap and would again lead to worsening teacher shortages. If the latest offer is accepted, the current award will be varied and extended until October 2024, while negotiations will continue on pay increases for later years. Education Minister Prue Car said she was hopeful the deal would be accepted so teachers could start to see more money in their pay packets. "The Minns Labor government is hopeful this agreement will be made so NSW teachers can get the pay rise they so urgently deserve," she said. "Negotiating an outcome that demonstrates respect to teachers has always been my highest priority." Australian Associated Press

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