SYDNEY, 18 September 2003 — Around 100,000 teachers went on strike in Australia’s most populous states yesterday, calling for wage increases as the OECD warned of a looming shortage of teachers in the developed world. Teachers across three states — New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia — staged rallies and warned of further stoppages in an unprecedented display of cross-border unity.

They are demanding pay rises of up to 30 percent to help attract graduates into the profession and avert what one leading teacher described as a “looming crisis” in education. “The issue of teacher shortage is a real issue in our schools across Australia, which principals are confronted with every day,” National Principals’ Committee Chairman Neil Free said.

“This issue of teacher supply is impacting on the curriculum offering in schools throughout Australia. It is widely acknowledged that there are teachers in almost every school teaching a subject which they are unqualified to teach.”

The argument was backed up by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s annual survey of education policy which found teachers were getting older as graduates opted for more lucrative jobs in the private sector.

The shortage was most acute in science, technology, computer sciences, mathematics and foreign languages, the Paris-based OECD said. Australian Education Union national Secretary Rob Durbridge estimated more than 100,000 teachers were taking part in the strike.

In Sydney, more than 10,000 teachers held a rally, while in Melbourne around 8,000 packed a city arena, cheering, whistling, stomping their feet and waving placards. However, New South Wales Premier Bob Carr denied the profession was in crisis and claimed non-financial benefits were keeping teachers in the job.

Teachers Federation president Maree O’Halloran said more teachers would leave the profession unless their demands were met. “Like nursing, we will not have enough teachers in the near future, and governments simply can’t put their heads in the sand, they really do have to address the issue,” she said.

At least 57 schools were shut in Victoria, where the state government has offered three percent salary increases over three years, one-tenth of the teachers’ demands.

In Perth, around 7,000 teachers met at a city playing field during a half-day stoppage in support of a 30 percent wage hike demand, warning of more stoppages if their demands were not met. “What we are saying is we want a long-term strategy about redressing the problems around the status of teaching in Australia,” said Pat Byrne, Western Australian state president of the Australian Education Union. Around 70 percent of state teachers had joined the strike, she said.