Today’s nationwide strike, in which thousands of school staff will walk off the job to call for better pay and working conditions, will go ahead with the support of Rotorua parents spoken to by the Rotorua Daily Post.
More than 50,000 early childhood workers, primary and secondary teachers and principals are taking part in a nationwide strike.
Both the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA), covering secondary and area school teachers, and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI), covering primary and kindergarten teachers, said members were striking for better pay, higher staffing numbers and more school funding.
Many schools in the Bay of Plenty will close for the day, with some offering supervision for children.
On CBD streets yesterday, mum of three Rosina Kahika said she raised her kids to go to their teachers whenever they needed help.
“The way the world is now, it costs so much to live,” Kiel said.
Kiel said he could see where the teachers were coming from.
“It’s not an easy job being a teacher, that’s for sure.”
One Rotorua mum with five children, who spoke on the condition she was not named due to her employment circumstances, said she wished inflation was automatically taken into account in teachers’ salaries.
“I wish the Government would just index their pay to inflation so we don’t have to go through this process all the time,” she said.
“I am sure the process alone cost a fortune in negotiations.”
Ministry of Education employment relations and pay equity general manager Mark Williamson previously said the offer NZEI members had rejected so far provided “significant increases”.
“For example, teachers at the top of the scale would earn $96,820 after eight years teaching.”
Williamson said primary teachers were also offered improvements to many of the conditions that NZEI has been looking to address, and $380 million had been set aside for early learning teacher pay parity.