Wage talks for teachers in NSW have crumbled after the government's offer was labelled a “betrayal”.

The NSW government's decision to abandon a deal, which would have positioned the state's educators as the highest paid in the country, has ignited strong reactions. 

The agreement aimed to bolster the initial salary of teachers by almost $10,000 and elevate the maximum teaching salary by approximately $9,000.
Despite the deal being reaffirmed in June, the government recently declared it would cease its pursuit of the agreement.

However, Deputy Premier Prue Car insists that negotiations remain ongoing. 

“We have reached many agreements with the Teachers Federation … but there are some things we haven't yet reached agreement on,” she said this week.

“I'm pretty disappointed about where we have landed today, but I urge the federation to continue negotiating with the government.”

Angelo Gavrielatos, President of the NSW Teachers Federation (NSWTF), said the government’s actions are “unheard of”.

“This is unprecedented,” he said. 

“In my decades of experience, never before has a government walked away from a deal in the way that we are experiencing now. This is an act of betrayal.”

The NSWTF has called on teachers to voice their concerns through symbolic acts, such as walking out of classrooms during visits by prominent government officials. 

Gavrielatos has further indicated that if the government persists in rejecting the initial agreement, the situation could escalate to more intense action in coming weeks.