Opinion: In tough times, priming knowledge pump reaps returns

NZ teachers have the lowest starting salaries in the developed world. Photo / Christine Cornege

Secondary teachers at Ruakaka, in Northland, explain why they are taking industrial action.

When talking to people about what we as teachers do as a profession the most common response is "I wouldn't do it."

Yet in taking industrial action many misconceptions remain as to why we are taking this action. There are often questions as to why we should be doing it all.

For the past six years, peace has reigned on the secondary school industrial relations front. That is because a ministerial taskforce led by Dame Margaret Bazley established the practice of collective agreements with three-year terms and regular cost of living increases. That meant that teachers received regular pay increases which kept salaries current and avoided teacher shortages.

The Government has jettisoned this approach.

The Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) has put in an initial claim of four per cent which is considerably less than teachers can earn in Australia. This takes into account the increased workload created by the implementation of a revised curriculum and the use of revised unit and achievement standards.

The secondary teachers collective agreement claims package this year covers two main claims: Part A: Building and maintaining capacity in the secondary teaching profession. This includes professional support for teachers and students and teacher learning conditions

Part B is about attracting and retaining secondary teachers. This includes remuneration and good employment conditions. This claims package was lodged after the PPTA considered the economic environment. It does have a clear vision about the future of secondary education - and these claims address some of those.

Other countries are continuing to invest in education despite the global financial problems. This would be a sensible and prudent thing to do in New Zealand too - our economic future depends on this.

Teachers are part of a global workforce and New Zealand teachers are well sought after. Within that global workforce, the teachers of Canada and Australia have won pay rises in the order of three to four per cent with three-year terms to their agreements.

If New Zealand wants to retain its teachers and especially young teachers and those entering the profession, it needs to offer salaries that are competitive with other nations We have a Government which has talked up its intention to invest in infrastructure. Surely, for a nation proud of its achievements and ambitious for its future, that begins with intellectual infrastructure. Other countries are already upping their investment in public education.

They have recognised that, when times are tough, priming the knowledge pump reaps returns. Much of this education investment around the world has been directed at attracting and retaining "quality" teachers.

New Zealand teachers have the lowest starting salaries in the developed world, yet work some of the longest hours. After 15 years experience, a New Zealand secondary teacher's salary is 17 per cent lower than the OECD average.

Australians think their children are worth the investment, with Queensland and South Australia teachers having just been awarded double digit percentage pay rises.

Our Government is not listening to teachers and parents. PPTA president, Kate Gainsford has said the government had failed to acknowledge a number of concerns secondary teachers have about the quality of education in their collective agreement negotiations.

"The claim teachers have lodged consists of a range of possible solutions to concerns shared across the sector and the community. The Government should be as concerned as everyone else about recruitment and retention of quality teachers' unmanageable workloads - but they've shown us scant evidence they care," she said.

"Why wouldn't a government which had the needs of students and communities at heart be prepared to invest in solutions around class size and student's health and safety? Why wouldn't the government be prepared to invest in ways of keeping New Zealand highly skilled and experienced teachers in front of New Zealand classes? It is ludicrous that a pay increase that does no more than keep salaries current has to be fought for while perk-laden politicians label them [teachers] greedy, overpaid and disconnected with reality."

Here is our "reality": Despite common misconceptions regarding work hours and holidays, most don't finish work when the students do, with administrative tasks, planning, marking, staff meetings and extracurricular commitments taking priority. Our goal is to run effective classrooms with quality assured teaching.

New Zealand teachers work many more hours actually teaching than colleagues overseas. Last year's OECD publication Education at a Glance reported that in 2007, New Zealand secondary teachers taught 968 hours a year in lower secondary programmes and 950 in upper secondary programmes compared to the OECD average of 709 and 653 hours respectively.

Are we to move forward with our neighbours or slip even further behind?

Submitted by Bream Bay College members of the Post Primary Teachers Association.