21 Oct 2021

Norfolk teachers walk off the job

4:08 pm on 21 October 2021

Norfolk Island teachers walked off the job on Tuesday over the Commonwealth Government's failure to provide education services beyond this year.

This follows New South Wales pulling out of the provision of education at Norfolk Island Central School after decades in the role.

The teachers said after seeking answers for two years on who the new provider would be, they still face the prospect of starting the school year with no employer, and only nine teachers staying on.

Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island Photo: Wikipedia

The school's full staff complement is 35.

The local representative on the Teachers' Federation, Suzie Hale, said the island's teachers have reached a point of crisis.

She said the only definite information they have is that the NSW Government is ceasing the provision of education on December 31, 2021.

Ms Hale said the school community remains cautiously optimistic that Queensland will step in but at this point there is no signed contract.

The teachers are intending to have rolling strikes each week for an increasing amount of time until a solution is found.

Meanwhile the Norfolk community is planning a rally, calling on the Commonwealth to acknowledge its responsibility and guarantee the school will be operational in 2022.