Public school teachers stop work again
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Today's protest centres on the issue of teacher transfers. (ABC)
New South Wales public school teachers will carry out more industrial action today as part of their ongoing dispute with the State Government.
Members of the Teachers Federation will hold a rally at NSW Parliament, and there will be two-hour stop-work meetings at regional schools.
The action could disrupt classes in regional areas.
The Department of Education says it expects all students will be supervised during the stop-work meeting.
The federation's vice president, Gary Zadkovich, says the rally will target planned changes to the teacher transfer system.
"The action is in defence of a teacher's right to transfer from Tumbarumba High School in the Snowy Mountains," he said.
"A number of schools in that part of the state will be taking two-hour stop work actions."
Transfer refused
Tumbarumba teacher David James is the central figure in today's protest.
He says he has been denied the right of a transfer after a decade of service in regional schools.
He says his transfer would have been granted up until April but the State Government's changes to school staffing mean he now has to apply and be interviewed.
Mr James has defended the previous arrangements.
"Without this incentive, I am very concerned that no-one will teach the children of these communities," he said.
Long-running dispute
The Education Department and the Teachers Federation have been in conciliation talks in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission over their long-running dispute.
Teachers are seeking a 5 per cent payrise, while the Government is only offering an interim increase of 2.5 per cent.
State teachers are threatening to strike for the first two days of the 2009 school year unless the Government improves its wages offer.
Catholic school teachers across New South Wales also stopped work for an hour this week in support of a 5 per cent payrise.
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