A group of 40, including teachers at Muirfield High and Cumberland High, protested outside Baulkham Hills TAFE college on Wednesday.

The members of the NSW Teachers Federation were calling on Premier Nathan Rees to reject the decision of the On October15, the commission granted the Department of Education and Training's application for changes to fund the TAFE teacher pay increase of 1.5 per cent a year over the three-year award.

These changes include:

An increase in attendance by 20per cent or five hours a week. The Industrial Relations Commission valued these extra hours at less than $3 each.

Teachers can be required to teach up to 35 face-to-face hours each week with no right to refuse and no extra pay. They now teach for 20 hours a week and say there are two hours of preparation and marking for each hour spent in the classroom.

Teachers can be directed by managers what to do in their ``duties related to teaching'' time, losing the right to use professional judgement.

If they take long-service extended leave before and after TAFE holidays, the total amount of time will be deducted from long-service leave. For example, if a teacher takes a week of long service leave before and after the six-week mandatory Christmas break (annual leave), all eight weeks will be deducted from his or her long-service entitlements. Teachers say they determine their leave this way to minimise disruption to students.

Teachers can be directed to work any time between 6am and 10pm, Overtime that teachers earn in first semester does not have to be paid before completion of annual hours.

Federation organiser Amber Flohm said an increase in workload would result in the loss of 300 full-time positions each year.

``This proposal is a disgrace,'' she said. ``It's TAFE now but schools next. TAFE teachers will have no extra time for professional development and those who are planning to retire soon will go now.''

Baulkham Hills TAFE Federation representative Michael Wise said there had been a noticeable drop in morale at his college because teachers were feeling under-appreciated.

The teachers said they would not be intimidated and the federation has appealed against the Industrial Relations Commission decision in the Supreme Court. The federation council is due to meet again this Friday, November21.