NSW TAFE teachers' strike

By Karen Fletcher SYDNEY — NSW TAFE teachers will strike for 24 hours on November 14 to protest the state ALP government's application of national competition policy to vocational education and training (VET) — which expressly goes against ALP policy. NSW ALP policy commits the party in government to encourage collaboration between public VET providers, not competition, and to maintain TAFE as the "predominant provider of vocational education and training". A motion passed at this year's NSW ALP conference stated: "A competitive education and training policy is not in the best interests of the public". Nevertheless the Carr government has directed an increased amount of federal VET funds to the private sector and is presiding over yet another TAFE "restructure" which will cut more than 297 jobs, increase student teacher ratios, and pit TAFE institutes against each other in bidding for funds. The NSW Teachers Federation believes the government is pursuing "privatisation by stealth". If the money is not there or TAFE is forced to compete with private providers which are largely unregulated and award free, then the demise of TAFE as the major publicly funded provider of vocational education in NSW will be assured, the federation argues. The federation organised a stop work meeting on October 19 and the November 14 strike has been called following the failure of education minister John Aquilina to respond to the concerns raised at that meeting.