To strike or not to strike? Tauranga teachers cast their votes

Hundreds of Tauranga teachers turned out for the union meeting. Photo / George Novak

Tauranga teachers have cast their votes on whether to strike a third time, with many saying they are keen to head back to the picket lines. But the Government says it won't budge from its $1.2 billion "biggest offer in a decade" despite talk of a "mega strike". Caroline Fleming reports.

Close to 500 teachers packed out Trustpower Stadium this afternoon to discuss whether to accept the Government's latest pay offer or reject it and strike on May 29 - the day before Budget announcements.

New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) president Lynda Stuart said the union had rejected that exact offer in the past - one of four rejected offers that resulted in two previous strikes.

She said a "mega strike" was on the cards, because the secondary school teachers' union, the Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) was considering striking the same day.

Tauranga Special School assistant principal and NZEI Tauranga representative Andrea Andresen. Photo / George Novak

Tauranga's NZEI representative, Andrea Andresen, said she believed the public would stand with teachers in another strike.

With the rate of loss and current teacher shortage and doubled-up classrooms, something needed to be done to "see quality teachers for our future generations", Andresen said.

"I'm definitely voting yes for another strike."

All teachers the Bay of Plenty Times spoke to at the meeting said they were voting to strike.

A Mount Maunganui teacher, who would only be known as Lisa, said teaching was a "burned-out type of job" and her husband had recently left the profession due to the poor work conditions.

"I want to stay teaching but I can't with the current situation."

Another teacher, Debbie, said having no spare moments made the workload unbearable.

Local PPTA representative Rebecca Holmes. Photo / George Novak

Education Minister Chris Hipkins said this week that the offer on the table included $1.2b worth of pay rises and other improvements to terms and conditions for primary and secondary school teachers across the country.

He said $698 million for primary school teachers and principals and $496m for secondary teachers were good offers.

"This is by far the biggest offer teachers have had in a decade."

The Government would not be increasing the total amount in this pay round.

Hipkins said while the Government recognised improving teachers' salaries was important, it was only one part of many issues in New Zealand.

The current teachers' claims would cost the Government $3.9b - which on a like-for-like basis was a third of total new Government spending in the last Budget.

This was money that had gone to health, police, and children living in poverty, he said.

National NZEI president Lynda Stuart says a "mega strike" of teachers is on the cards. Photo / George Novak

"Our offers will see most primary school teachers get a pay rise of $10,000 over the next two years."

The Ministry of Education's deputy secretary for early learning and student achievement, Ellen MacGregor-Reid, said the latest data showed more people were training to be teachers, more teachers were entering the workforce and more teachers were staying in the profession.

Local PPTA representative Rebecca Holmes said teaching was no longer an attractive profession and teachers had no option other than to take industrial action.

The nationwide vote count will be announced on Monday.