A black day for teaching - ministry offer rejected

PPTA members nationwide will dress in black tomorrow after overwhelmingly rejecting the Ministry of Education's offer for the settlement of the Secondary Teachers' Collective Agreement (STCA).

The current agreement expires today and tomorrow teachers will wear black to signal their frustration and disappointment at the failure of the ministry to address their concerns, PPTA president Kate Gainsford says.

Both the prime minister and minister of finance have said they expect pay increases to outstrip inflation, yet the ministry's offer (1.5 per cent for the first year and 1 per cent the year after) was well below inflation. "In real terms this amounts to a significant pay cut for teachers," Gainsford said.

As the economy improves there will be an outflow from the profession, and a pay offer well below both inflation and expected wage rises in the private sector would do nothing to attract teachers to the profession or retain those currently teaching. "It isn't just unreasonable - it is irresponsible," she said.

Secondary teachers responding to a secret ballot conducted by the union said the offer indicated the government neither understood nor valued the work teachers did.

The offer also included a proposal requiring teachers to do additional work when students are not at school, rather than the individual planning, marking, resource preparation and professional development they currently do at those times.

Most offensive of all was that the ministry had not responded to a single one of the members' claims to improve recruitment and retention, health and safety and professional learning, Gainsford said.

"Teachers are calling on the government to come back to the table with a more constructive approach."

PPTA executive will review progress during its July meeting and decide whether to call stop work meetings to discuss possible further actions, she said.

- NZPA