Children playing by a school gate. Photo / Michael Craig
Children playing by a school gate. Photo / Michael Craig
Today’s nationwide strike in which thousands of school staff will walk off the job to call for better pay and working conditions will go ahead with the support of Tauranga parents spoken to by the Bay of Plenty Times.
More than 50,000 early childhood workers, primary and secondary teachers and principals are taking part in a nationwide strike.
Both the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA), covering secondary and area school teachers, and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI), covering primary and kindergarten teachers, said members were striking for better pay, higher staffing numbers and more school funding.
Many schools in the Bay of Plenty will close for the day with some offering supervision for children.
Outside Omanu School yesterday, parent Gina Livingstone said teachers “work incredible hours and do such an amazing job”.
Livingstone, who has two children at Omanu School, said she was “absolutely” supportive of teachers striking.
“They do everything for our kids. They work incredible hours and do such an amazing job - not just teaching. The work encompasses so much more in terms of the wellbeing of your child,” she said.
She had decided to take the day off work but knew many parents would not have this option.
Fellow Tauranga mum Lajanne Smith has three school-aged children who attend Greerton Village School, Tauranga Intermediate, and Tauranga Boys’ College.
While the strike would inconvenience many parents, Smith said “we need to look after our teachers”.
“I 100 per cent support the strike and I definitely think it’s worthwhile they get their voices out there,” Smith said.
“In terms of being a parent, it’s highly inconvenient but it is what it is - and there is nothing you can really do.”
Tauranga mum Lajanne Smith. Photo / Supplied
“We need to look after our teachers.”
Smith, on maternity leave, said it was “quite lucky” she did not need to organise childcare as she normally would have.
Schools needed more staff to help alleviate pressures on teachers with high-class sizes, she said.
“For the next generation, the best shot they have got is a good education. And at the moment, if classes are larger than they should be, kids that are struggling aren’t getting the best education,” she said.
“That should be our main focus so they can better themselves in life.”
She knew of students who required extra learning support but were “not getting the attention they need” because of high-class numbers.
The Bay of Plenty Times spoke to several parents, including Livingstone, dropping their children off at Omanu School.
Phoebe Hall told said teachers “deserved to be paid more” and she hoped the strike would lead to improved working conditions.
“They do a lot more work than just 9am until 3pm.”
However, it would cause disruption for working parents who would have to “juggle”, she said.
“It’s a pain for parents. I am lucky I have got a job where I can work from home.”
Another parent Ben, who only wanted his first name used for privacy reasons, said he was taking the day off work and planned to speak to “a couple of other parents to see if they needed help”.
“I appreciate the disruption it’s causing for other people - but generally because we see how hard the teachers in our school are working and we support them.”
Maggie Duncan, who has three children at Omanu School, said she understood how hard the staff worked because, while growing up, her father was a principal.
“You don’t get paid well for the amount of hours you work. He had meetings, like, Monday to Thursday night. If it wasn’t school he was on a committee - so we really hardly saw him.”
Duncan also said there needed to be more support staff in classes with high numbers to address various learning needs.
Dad Barry Muntz, who had children at the neighbouring kindergarten, said while it would “disrupt” his workday overall he supported their right to “strike for better opportunities”.
Ministry of Education employment relations and pay equity general manager Mark Williamson previously said the offer NZEI members had rejected so far provided “significant increases”.
“For example, teachers at the top of the scale would earn $96,820 after eight years teaching.”
Williamson said primary teachers were also offered improvements to many of the conditions that NZEI has been looking to address, and $380 million had been set aside for early learning teacher pay parity.
