Hunter public and Catholic school teachers have combined forces and will participate in a joint strike on Thursday, June 30 as anger escalates across the profession over staff shortages, mounting workload and pay.
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NSW Teachers Federation regional organiser Jack Galvin Waight said the unions' joint campaign spoke to the size of the crisis facing the profession.
"For the first time in our history we stand as one, one voice, we're a profession in crisis and subsequently we need to take this action. The Premier is failing our students, he's failing our profession, if we don't act now, the teacher crisis and the teacher shortages will continue to affect our students," he said.
Negotiations over an enterprise agreement are at a stalemate, with the NSW Teachers Federation calling for a pay rise of 5 per cent a year with an extra 2.5 per cent to recognise extra experience, as well as two more hours of planning time a week.
Public sector workers will receive a pay rise lifting the cap on wages to 3 per cent this year, and a possible 3.5 per cent next year.
It has been more than two decades since the NSW Teachers Federation and the Independent Education Union of Australia have taken joint action.
It will be the third time the state's public school teachers have voted to strike in just over six months, and the second time NSW and ACT Catholic diocesan schools have voted to take industrial action this year.
Thousands of Catholic school teachers walked off the job at the end of May demanding a 10 to 15 per cent pay increase over the next two years.
Together, the unions represent more than three quarters of the state's teachers.
Independent schools will be the only ones fully operational next Thursday when public and Catholic school teachers rally at Civic Park in Newcastle and march to the state government offices on Bull Street.
