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The PPTA has rejected a renewed Government offer for secondary school teachers, made to break a stand-off after the union earlier ended negotiations and took out full-page newspaper advertisements accusing the Government of breaking its promises.
The Government's new offer was a 10.6 per cent pay increase spread over three years - up from the 9.3 per cent increase offered earlier.
It also offered extra provisions for teachers with responsibilities, such as heads of departments and deans and a review on staffing levels.
But the Post Primary Teachers' Association rejected the offer yesterday, just a day after it was made.
The union broke off bargaining six days into the scheduled 12-day negotiations last month and issued a press release and newspaper ads accusing the Government of breaking its promises.
PPTA president Robin Duff said the difference between the two offers was marginal and did not address problems of recruitment and retention by making teaching more competitive with other professions.
He said much of the initial 4 per cent increase would be lost, because it would apply only from the date of ratification. The past agreement ended on June 30.
"We've made it perfectly clear that if there is any significant improvement in the size of the package we are there. But this second offer appears to us to be simply juggling the candles on the cake rather than addressing the issues there."
The PPTA has asked for annual 4 per cent increases for three years, as well as a raft of measures to increase staffing levels and allowances.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Education took the unusual step of briefing the media on the offer before the PPTA rejected it.
The new offer would have taken the base salary for a graduate teacher from $40,586 now to $44,889 in 2009. The top rate would go from $61,323 to $67,824. It also included better allowances for teachers with extra responsibilities, such as heads of department and deans.
The ministry's senior manager of industrial relations, Chris Collins, said since 2000 the average teacher's salary, including allowances, had risen by 30 per cent to $64,000.
"Teachers already sit fair and square in the market as far as their current salaries go. The revised offers are very good and retain that competitiveness to attract high-quality teachers, which is our aim."
The union will meet members this month to decide on action.
