Teachers chanting and calling for toots of support from motorists on a roundabout in Blockhouse Bay in 2020. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Teachers chanting and calling for toots of support from motorists on a roundabout in Blockhouse Bay in 2020. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Opinion
EDITORIAL
As the cost of living sinks its teeth deeper into households, it’s understandable that early childhood education, primary and secondary school teachers, and principals have walked off the job in a demand for more pay.
Understandable, but a pity.
The pay adjustment is a distraction from some of theclaims that many teachers and principals, particularly, might agree are more crucial than wages.
For decades, unions been compelled to include multiple aspects in claims, including salary adjustment, but also to improve working conditions, much-needed increases in the number of teachers and specialist roles, and more. Many of these claims are about improving education for our children as much as about working conditions.
Among the claims is more support for students with additional learning and behavioural needs. Currently, schools have to find the money within their budgets to pay teacher aides to help children such as the neuro-diverse. If a school has more such children than it can provide with teacher aides, a child can disrupt the class to the extent the teacher spends more time dealing with behaviour problems than teaching.
One self-explanatory claim is to reduce the teacher-to-student ratio for Year 4-8 students from 1:29 to 1:25.
Another claim is for more resourcing for each class to give the regular teacher time to complete professional responsibilities, such as assessments, that are difficult to do while responsible for a class. Providing quality assessments and planning for children’s educational needs is too important to be carried out while simultaneously supervising a sometimes unruly class.
Teachers and principals are often parents too. They understand the disruption when schools close. NZEI Te Riu Roa was obliged under the Education and Training Act 2020 to give school boards three days notice of the strike. Instead, it informed boards six days ahead, before formally confirming the action on Monday. It also agreed to exemptions from strike action to members in schools in Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.
However, notification of the strike to parents, as suggested by the union, placed too much emphasis on pay and relegated other issues. “NZEI has been in negotiations with the Government to achieve a settlement that at least keeps pace with inflation while at the same time addresses the lack of resources required to support students with additional needs.”
In terms of salary, teachers and principals want to avoid what amounts to a pay cut by claiming a salary increase equal to the inflation rate. The Government has offered less and, in doing so, has swayed many in the public realm into thinking the teachers are asking too much.
Unfortunately, our schools struggle to attract and retain good teachers and the number of people choosing to train has fallen. The Government offer would have given 85 per cent of teachers an increase of between 7.8 per cent and 6.1 per cent over the three-year term of the agreement.
While 7.2 per cent inflation is real and hurts, it hurts almost everyone.
The teachers and principals would have garnered more public support had they relinquished the 16 per cent pay claim and taken the higher ground of children’s needs.
