Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation

Call Number
Nef 331.8809944 EDU
Created/Published
Sydney : The Federation, 1919-2021
Issue
Vol. 53 No. 06 (12 Apr 1972)
Images
12
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Text

education  

JOURNAL OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES TEACHERS' FEDERATION  

Vol. 53, No.  

APRIL 12, 1972  

Price: Three cents  

Registered at G.P.0., Sydney, tor transmission  

by post as newspaper Category B.  

Progressive Laws:  

Mass Meetings condemn  

Teacher Victimisation  

Mass meetings of teachers gathered throughout  

the State on Wednesday March 29 to protest against  

the use of the Teaching Service Act and the Summary  

Offences Act against teachers and Federation officers.  

Meetings were held in Sydney (Lower Town Hall),  

Parramatta, Penrith, Newcastle and Canberra.  

draft resolution prepared by Federation  

Executive to be considered at the mass meetings is  

printed below.  

This mass meeting of members of the New South Wales  

Teachers' Federation condemns the Government, the  

Education Department and the Public Service Board for its  

victimisation of Federation members by charges made under  

the Teaching Service Act and the Summary Offences Act.  

By this attempted intimidation of individuals  

the authorities are seeking to restrain teachers from acting  

to improve public education as well as  

their own working conditions, and to divert attention from the  

deficiencies in the education system, for  

which the Government the Department and the board  

are responsible.  

We also condemn the procedures followed at the hearing  

of charges under Section 37 of the  

Teaching Service Act, in which witnesses for the defence  

have not been allowed, and other practices are  

followed in denial of the justice afforded by the common law.  

This meeting therefore demands the immediate dropping  

of all charges against and remission of penalties  

imposed on teachers for carrying out Federation policy, in  

common with thousands of others, on period loads, extra  

periods, primary class sizes and pupil record cards.  

The meeting also calls upon the Acting Director-General to  

take action for the dropping of the charge made  

Sydney Meeting  

Approximately thousand teachers attended  

the meeting in the Lower Town Hall, dis-  

appointing response to the appeal from Exe-  

cutive. However, those who attended discuss-  

ed the draft resolution in detail and with  

vigorous debate.  

Mr. L. Childs, Federation President, opened  

the meeting with survey of action taken  

against teachers by the Department to date  

and resultant efforts by Federation and its  

members to protect themselves from these  

attacks. He then urged the meeting to adopt  

the resolution which was to be moved by Mr.  

J. Frederick (Senior Vice-President) and sec-  

onded by Miss E. Mattick (Vice-President).  

Resolution Debate  

Several amendments were moved during the  

course of the debate. Michael Hourihan  

moved an amendment calling for stoppage  

on April 27 so that teachers could attend  

Manly Court on the day Doris Jobiing had  

to appear on Summary Offences charge;  

Mr. Pat Lee moved an amendment that Fede-  

ration members who invoked the Teaching  

Service Act on the Summary Offences Act  

against fellow colleagues should be cited to  

the Ethics Committee and Eric Earley moved  

that teachers boycott hearings when they were  

charged. Dorothea Mooney moved that teach-  

ers support the postal workers in their at-  

tempt to gain better conditions and that Fede-  

ration work for general strike and the over-  

throw of the present government. Mr. Lee’s  

amendment was adopted and incorporated in  

the final resolution.  

Newcastle Meeting  

Eight hundred indignant determined teachers  

almost filled the hall of the Broadmeadow  

Police Boys’ Club.  

Les McGowan, Assistant General Secretary  

reported on the current situation. He stressed  

that the Department and Public Service Board  

regard themselves as involved in life and  

death struggle over the control of the edu-  

cation system. They intend to break the mili-  

tancy of teachers and if necessary break the  

Federation in the process. Warning of the  

gravity of the situation, Mr. McGowan em-  

phasised that never before had individual  

teachers been placed at such risk, i.e., of fine  

and dismissal and that if the union was not  

able to interpose itself between the teacher  

and the authorities confidence will be lost.  

Two deadlines exist, he stated, the Acting  

Director-General has deferred the hearing of  

the charges against the teachers at Wollon-  

gong High until April 10.  

Federation had delivered an ultimatum to  

withdraw the action against teachers and an  

under the Summary Offences Act against Federation  

Organiser for attending school meeting of  

Federation members in performance of her duties.  

The meeting calls upon the April meeting of Federation  

Council, unless all these charges have been dropped by  

April 7, 1972, to call one-day stop-work meetings of all  

members throughout the State, on day to be  

decided; these meetings to consider further action to secure  

(a) withdrawal of the charges and remission  

of penalties;  

(b) improvement in teaching conditions, especially  

reduced class sizes  

immediate relief for absent teachers  

substantial increase in ancillary staff  

specialist teachers in primary schools  

The Sydney stop-work meeting to be followed by mass  

deputations to Parliament House.  

The meeting endorses the decisions of Federation Council  

and Executive authorising immediate stop-work meetings  

when teacher is charged, attends an inquiry  

and/or is penalised, or given direction which could  

lead to charge.  

Maximum Federation activity is called for to give all  

members and the public the fullest information on the reasons  

for our stand.  

officer of the Federation by April 7. Teachers  

should be fully aware that one day stoppage  

or one week stoppage may not be sufficient  

to convince those attacking teachers of the  

need for caution. The choice before teachers  

is clear—to withdraw from implementing the  

action section of the Working Conditions re-  

solution or teachers will be charged and dealt  

with. Second offenders may well be dismissed.  

Or to take action to defend the right to take  

action.  

The recommended resolution was moved  

by Mr. Neil Wright, President of the New-  

castle Association and seconded by Mr. Bob  

Phillips, Deputy President, Newcastle Sec-  

ondary Association. Mr. Jim Shield, the Presi-  

dent of Newcastle Secondary Association and  

member of the Executive of the Federation  

chaired the meeting. The resolution was  

taken in three sections, the strike section be-  

ing the third considered. Sections one and  

three were carried overwhelmingly by the  

meeting 750 to 50.  

Canberra Meeting  

About 250 teachers attended the Canberra  

meeting and passed the draft resolution with  

the following amendment to the fifth para-  

graph:  

Continued on Page 66  

In this issue:  

BROKEN HILL ACTION. Teachers’ strike  

threat gains results. P. 63.  

EDUCATION INNOVATIONS. Southern Cross  

Public School shows what can be done.  

P. 67.  

SUMMARY OFFENCES CHARGE. School  

resolutions supporting Doris Jobiing. P. 72.  

Cite

Citation options:
Work identifier

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-710506257

APA citation

N.S.W. Teachers' Federation & New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. (1919). Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation Retrieved May 23, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-710506257

MLA citation

N.S.W. Teachers' Federation and New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation Sydney: The Federation, 1919. Web. 23 May 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-710506257>

Harvard/Australian citation

N.S.W. Teachers' Federation & New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. 1919, Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation The Federation, Sydney viewed 23 May 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-710506257

Wikipedia citation

{{Citation
  | author1=N.S.W. Teachers' Federation.
  | author2=New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation.
  | title=Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation.
  | year=1919
  | section=volumes.
  | issn=0013-1156
  | issue=Vol. 53 No. 06 (12 Apr 1972)
  | location=Sydney
  | publisher=The Federation
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-710506257
  | id=nla.obj-710506257
  | access-date=23 May 2025
  | via=Trove
}}

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