NSW: Teachers no closer to resolving dispute

AAP General News (Australia)
04-26-2000
NSW: Teachers no closer to resolving dispute

SYDNEY, April 26 AAP - New South Wales teachers and the state government are no closer
to resolving an award dispute which threatens to disrupt the first week of the next school
term.

Teachers have already voted in favour of a 24-hour strike on Thursday next week, after
rejecting the government's pay offer of 16 per cent over four years, with conditions.

The NSW Teachers Federation and the Education Department went to the NSW Industrial
Relations Commission today for five hours, but appear no closer to reaching a resolution.

The parties have had three separate closed-door conferences before the commission during
the two-week school holiday period and are expected to return to the commission tomorrow
afternoon.

The Education Department has refused to comment on the negotiations, with a spokesman
saying both parties had made an agreement that the matter would not be discussed publicly.

However, it's believed during the latest round of talks the government has threatened
to completely withdraw its pay offer and begin negotiations from scratch.

Teachers Federation president Sue Simpson confirmed the commission meetings so far
had achieved very little but that the federation would ask that conciliation continue.

"Certainly any progress has been minimal, so far," she said.

"I think in terms of the government threatening to withdraw the offer, they threatened
to do that after our (April 14) Sky Channel meetings in media comments then," she said.

The lack of progress in the dispute has also drawn criticism from the state opposition
which accused the government of using guerrilla tactics in the dispute.

Opposition education spokeswoman Patricia Forsythe accused the state government of
failing to do everything in its power to resolve the dispute, which today entered its
301st day.

"The minister for education has spent months denigrating teachers and their work," she said.

"In the end its students and public education that lose out through this industrial turmoil."

But Mr Aquilina said the opposition continually contradicted itself on the dispute matter.

"Involving the IRC was supported by the opposition ... perhaps (Ms Forsythe) has also
forgotten that she urged teachers to accept the government's pay offer in January."

AAP nd/sb/jnb

KEYWORD: TEACHERS (CARRIED EARLIER)

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