To Eric Abetz , Christopher Pyne, Adrian Piccoli, Michele Bruniges, Maurie Mulheron, Phil Foreman and whom it may concern,

This petition intends to highlight the dire situation facing 40,000 NSW teachers waiting for permanent employment.

According to figures published by the Sydney Morning Herald, there are 40,000 teachers in NSW who do not have permanent work. Last year 6353 teachers graduated while only 2200 permanent positions were offered. This means the number of teachers waiting for a job is increasing by 10% annually.

It is disheartening to learn that instead of slowing the number of people enrolling to study teaching, universities are increasing them. Since 2003 the number of graduate teachers has increased from 4669 to 6353, a growth of 36%. Education students are being sold on jobs that do not exist.

In short, teaching students are being sold a lie.

Teachers who are casually employed are not entitled to full maternity leave. They receive no sick pay and often get no work at the start and end of each term making it very difficult to budget and also making it necessary to find additional work. Many have to supplement their income with nannying, tutoring and other cash-in-hand jobs meaning their super suffers. Their lack of permanency makes it difficult, if not impossible, to secure a mortgage or plan for the future.

These teachers live in limbo. They have been provided no timeframe for when they can expect permanent employment.

Furthermore, a Bachelor of Teaching does not translate into other fields. If a teacher wants to work in corporate training or with adults, they must retrain, facing the prospect of more and more debt. For those who already have significant HECS debt, retraining is a distressing prospect.

Many teachers may never get the chance to have their own classroom, see the same students from day to day or build a rapport with their students. Instead they will wait to receive a phone call at 6am every morning telling them whether or not they have work that day, they will play videos and hand out worksheets, then will return home, being permitted none of the rewards of a “real” teaching position like the opportunity to see students grow and develop or the sense of achievement when students flourish because of their teacher’s hard work and commitment.

The over reliance on casual staff also has an impact on the kids. There is a lack of continuity for the students. Some students can have three or more different teachers in one school year, which is not conducive to learning. It is disruptive and it does not allow students the opportunity to develop any sort of trusting relationship with their teachers. It leads to many students “slipping through the cracks” because they have not had continual supervision or support.

Your government is able to forecast demand for teachers. It is astounding that this oversupply is allowed to continue. The department of education supposedly conducts regular reviews of casual and temporary teacher usage in schools across the state. It is astounding that your government permits this over-reliance on casual teachers, forsaking both teachers and children, when there are jobs that could be filled by permanent employees.

This petition is written on behalf of the frustrated, disenfranchised teachers who are fully trained but cannot find permanent work, not because of any incompetency on their part but because of your failure to plan properly and your mismanagement of your staff. You have trained us. You are our employer. Our future and the future of our children are your responsibility.

Fix the existing system that relies so heavily on the abuse of casual and temporary staff. Fund retraining for unemployed or underemployed teachers. End cuts to teaching positions and funding.

For the full articles from the Sydney Morning Herald visit:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/teaching-40000-looking-for-permanent-jobs-20131116-2xnln.html