22 January 2018
The State School Teachers’ Union of WA (SSTUWA) welcomes the recent government announcement to reverse education cuts, including:
- The suspension of L3 Classroom Teacher applications
- The closure of Schools of the Air
- The closure of the Northam residential facility
- The state wide, secondary gifted and talented programs
SSTUWA President Pat Byrne welcomed the government’s decision.
“In light of the government’s decision to reverse the most egregious of its education cuts, the SSTUWA Executive has decided not to proceed with its public education rally at the end of this month,” Ms Byrne said.
“However, the SSTUWA continues to oppose any cuts to education programs and urges the government to look elsewhere to recoup anticipated budget savings.
“Schools have suffered significantly in recent years as a result of budget cuts and are unable to sustain further cuts whilst being expected to continue delivering quality education services.
“We are pleased the McGowan government has reversed some of the cuts but there is more work to be done, and the union will continue to campaign against the remaining cuts.”
The SSTUWA Executive also announced its support of the planned industrial action by CSA members on 1 February.
“The savage cuts to Education Department staff and the critical services they deliver will ultimately affect the quality of public school education, and we support the CSA’s industrial campaign,” Ms Byrne concluded.
Over the coming weeks, the Union will meet with groups of affected members to determine what further action against the cuts will be taken.
