A RALLY organised outside TAFE Western’s campus in Orange on Tuesday had just three union representatives in attendance after it failed to rally teacher and student support.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Intended to protest rising TAFE fees, the rally had originally been listed as including teachers and students, but when it began, only Teachers Federation organiser for TAFE Western Terry Keeley and Central West Community Unions Alliance representatives Joe Maric and Bernard Fitzsimon, who is also the Labor candidate for Orange, attended.
Mr Keeley said TAFE institutes across the state had tabled the code of conduct and warned teachers not to speak to the public or the media about their concerns.
“That’s one of the reasons they cited [for not attending the rally], they didn’t want to be caught on camera,” he said.
However, he said enrolments at the Orange campus had dropped due to the increased charges under the Smart and Skilled program.
“In the trades, there’s been about a 50 per cent drop in enrolments - I’m talking plumbing, metal fabrication, automotive, those sorts of trades,” he said.
“They can only offer apprenticeships because apprenticeships are only $2000 whereas for someone to enrol outside an apprenticeship, they’re looking at $8000-$10,000.
“In some traditional industries that are expensive there’s a lesser impact, like hairdressing and beauty.”
Mr Keeley said working tradespeople wanting to upskill or retrain could not enrol due to the cost pressures.
“Anyone who’s injured at work or ends up with a redundancy and wants to retrain because that particular job doesn’t exist, if they’ve got a previous qualification at the same level or above, they’ll be facing a full commercial rate,” he said.
A TAFE Western spokesman denied teachers had been reminded of the code of conduct or warned not to take part in protest action.
“It is the decision of individuals to participate in union activities,” he said.