The New South Wales Teachers Federation (also known simply as Federation) is the registered trade union which covers NSW public school teachers. The New South Wales Teachers Federation represents all teachers in New South Wales public pre-schools, infants, primary and secondary schools and TAFE (technical and further education) Institutes. Teachers in Schools for Specific Purposes, Adult Migrant Education Service (AMES) and Corrective Services are also members.

About the union

The New South Wales Teachers Federation is affiliated to the Australian Education Union

Australian Education Union

The Australian Education Union is an Australian trade union, founded in 1984 as the Australian Teachers Union, which is registered with Fair Work Australia as an employee group, and is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions...

 (AEU), the national union covering public school teachers in Australia and through that organisation to Education International

Education International

Education International is a global union federation of teachers' trade unions. Currently, it has 401 member organizations in 172 countries and territories, representing over 30 million education personnel from pre-school to university...

 and the Australian Council of Trade Unions

Australian Council of Trade Unions

The Australian Council of Trade Unions is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions.-History:The ACTU was formed in 1927 as the "Australian Council of Trade Unions"...

. The New South Wales Teachers Federation is also affiliated to Unions New South Wales. The NSW Teachers Federation is not affiliated to any political party.

The New South Wales Teachers Federation is based at Surry Hills

Surry Hills, New South Wales

Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is located immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney...

 near the Sydney CBD. The union also has regional offices in Blacktown

Blacktown, New South Wales

Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of City of Blacktown.Blacktown is the largest...

, Bathurst

Bathurst, New South Wales

-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...

, Dubbo, Lismore

Lismore, New South Wales

Lismore is a subtropical town in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. Lismore is the main population centre in the City of Lismore local government area. Lismore is a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State.-History:...

, Newcastle

Newcastle, New South Wales

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...

, Port Macquarie

Port Macquarie, New South Wales

Port Macquarie is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The city is located on the coast, at the mouth of the Hastings River, and has an estimated population of 44,313....

, Queanbeyan

Queanbeyan, New South Wales

Queanbeyan is a regional centre in the Southern Tablelands in south-eastern New South Wales adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory. The city's mixed economy is based on light construction, high technology, manufacturing, service, retail and agriculture. It is the council seat of the...

, Tamworth

Tamworth, New South Wales

Tamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Peel River, Tamworth, which contains an estimated population of 47,595 people, is the major regional centre for southern New England and in the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council. The city...

, Wagga Wagga and Wollongong

Wollongong, New South Wales

Wollongong is a seaside city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 82 kilometres south of Sydney...

.

The membership includes about 41,000 full-time teachers, 15,000 casual and unemployed members and 6,000 TAFE teachers. The total membership stands at about 67,000.

The state council of the union consists of approximately 300 locally elected delegates. The union’s annual conference consists of approximately 600 delegates. The NSW Teachers Federation executive is elected by the state council.

The secretariat of the Federation is composed of 45 officers who are elected by the council for a three year term. They perform such jobs as organiser, industrial advocate, welfare officer and research officer, supporting the Federation's membership.

The three Presidential officers - President, Deputy President, and Senior Vice President - are elected by the whole membership every two years.

The NSW Teachers Federation looks after a multiplicity of issues on behalf of teachers. It is responsible for negotiating the salaries and working conditions of its members with the New South Wales government. The union is committed to the interests of public education, although its primary concern is salaries and working conditions of it members.

Stewart House is the official charity of the NSW Teachers Federation.

History

Establishment and the early years

Throughout its history, Federation has campaigned long and hard on issues affecting public education, teachers' salaries and teachers' working conditions, those issues which are at the heart of teaching as a profession in New South Wales.

The first Annual Conference of Federation in 1919 had listed as part of the agenda "inadequacy of teachers' salaries, understaffing of schools, unwieldiness of classes, insufficiency of accommodation, conducting of classes in sheds, corridors and unsuitable rooms to the detriment of the health of teachers and pupils". Other matters included "unhealthy congestion of school population in overgrown suburban schools, as against decentralisation into schools with a maximum enrolment of one thousand, the high percentage of unclassified and insufficiently trained teachers, inadequacy of supervision by heads of departments owing to class duties and absence of schools for the mentally disabled". Throughout this century, Federation has continued to campaign on these issues. All go to the very heart of a quality public education delivery.

In the years immediately following its establishment, Federation was concerned to increase its membership. In 1920 the membership of the Federation was 5,600 or 78% of the total membership of the Department of Education. In 1996 membership is about 64,000. This number includes permanent full time school, TAFE teachers, AMES teachers, part time school, TAFE, AMES and casual teachers as well as those teachers in other associated groups.

It was not until 1937 that the first organiser was appointed, following an Annual Conference decision of 1936 that stated "we are firmly of the opinion that, for a really effective increase in membership, it is necessary that some person be employed for the whole of their time organising the schools". More officers were progressively appointed. There were 43 full time administrative officers in 1996, who serviced the needs of the membership and undertook recruitment activities.

1960s-present day

In 1961, 241,000 signatories for a National Education Petition were presented to the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, calling for Commonwealth funding to state schools. This was the culmination of a long campaign begun in the 1940s, to encourage the Commonwealth Government to fund certain programs in State schools. To this day such programs are funded by the Commonwealth Government. This number of signatories was a record which was only broken in 1993 by a petition calling for private health insurance to be tax deductible.

Over the years to 1968, the year of Federation's first general strike, the Union campaigned on the theme of "United Action", emphasising a community of interest between different sectors of the membership and the community, in policy development. Political, industrial and professional issues concerning public education were given focus and emphasis. There were significant advances - in 1946, for example, there was a major salaries breakthrough for teachers which gave the first realistic salary increases since 1920 and set the standard for other professional workers. The average gain was over 100 pounds for men and 80 pounds for women.

The federation made a major break with the past in 1968, its 50th anniversary, when the first state-wide strike was called over the appalling conditions in which teachers were working. The strike was an overwhelming success - the vast majority of members stopped work and the demonstration outside Parliament House is still remembered.
Since then, industrial action has become a part of the Federation's campaigns - not as a threat to be used lightly but as one way of indicating the depth of teachers' concern.

Since the 1990s, the NSW Teachers Federation has campaigned strongly to support public education in the face of rapidly expanding government funding for private schools. In partnership with parents and principals, the Teachers Federation has engaged in political lobbying and advertising in support of public schools.