LISMORE MP Janelle Saffin has condemned the axing of up to 29 TAFE NSW jobs on the Northern Rivers as a betrayal by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who gave an iron-clad promise in 2019 that there would be no public service job cuts in regional and rural New South Wales.
“Deputy Premier John Barilaro and his Nationals are just as responsible here too; not lifting a finger as the Liberals continue with their deliberate actions in dismantling TAFE,” Ms Saffin said.
“How many cuts can our TAFE system take before it is completely decimated?”
TAFE NSW late last week advised the Community Public Sector Union of NSW that the Berijiklian-Barilaro Government is slashing almost 700 frontline TAFE NSW jobs, including 470 regional jobs.
“Figures provided to me by the CPSU-NSW show that we are looking at up to 29 local jobs going under two major restructures – in educational support and in student services, facilities management and logistics,” Ms Saffin said.
“In our Electorate of Lismore, six positions could be cut at the Lismore campus and one at the Murwillumbah Connected Learning Centre.
“In the neighbouring Electorate of Tweed, Kingscliff TAFE will be hardest hit with the Government targeting 13 positions, and in the Ballina Electorate, eight positions at Wollongbar TAFE and one position at Ballina TAFE are under threat.
“I will stand with the TAFE staff and their union, and with TAFE students, to fight these cruel job cuts because local communities cannot afford to see their TAFE campuses run down as the NSW Liberal-Nationals pursue their privatisation push, at the expense of local jobs and economy.
“Enough is enough.”
Monday, 22 February 2021.
