Ministry tries to resume talks with teachers

Members of the PPTA's Waikato region protesting in September. Photo / Christine Cornege

The Ministry of Education is desperately trying to get "furious" secondary teachers back to the negotiation table after they last week vowed to continue strike action until the end of the year.

Teachers will again start rostering students home, starting with Year 9 students this Thursday, followed by Year 10 students on November 23, and Year 9 pupils again on December 1.

The teachers' union, the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA), had called off a planned strike last Thursday to allow contracts negotiations with the Ministry of Education to continue.

But president Kate Gainsford said the ministry responded with nothing but the promise of a "talkfest".

She said members would be surveyed about a range of intensified action for early 2011.

The ministry's group manager education workforce, Fiona McTavish, said today that it was "working very hard to urge (the) PPTA back to the table to reach a settlement before Thursday".

Ms Gainsford said the ministry had last week promised an offer on class size limitations, but only if strike action was called off.

However, the only move made on class sizes by the ministry was the promise of "talks" on whether overlarge class sizes were a good or bad thing, Ms Gainsford said.

"Parents and teachers know there are virtually no circumstances when class sizes of over 30 are educationally justifiable."

The PPTA's three pivotal demands revolved around teacher conditions, including class size and hours, security of the collective agreement without clawbacks, and a 4 per cent pay rise.

- NZPA