Stratford teachers take strike action

Teachers took strike action last Wednesday.

Teachers from around Stratford took to the streets to protest during last Wednesday's strike action.

More than 20 teachers and their supporters gathered with placards outside The Well Cafe on the corner of Broadway and Regan Street protest for better pay, conditions and incentives to attract new teachers.

After a short and loud protest, with cars and trucks honking, the teachers headed to New Plymouth and Hawera to join other teachers doing the same. Ratapiko School principal Lisa Hill says parents were supportive and understood the reasons, which were about getting greater learning support for children.

Ratapiko principal Lisa Hill.

"The workload just keeps increasing and we are seeing more and more children with anxiety and trauma — we are not set up to support these children.

"Teachers love their jobs. We love what we so and invest so much time in children. We want the Government to invest in us too."

She says retaining teachers was a concern, as was drawing them into the profession. There's an estimated 2000 shortage of teachers in the next five years, and it was also hard to get relievers .

"If you are not going to pay teachers for what they do, you are not going to get teachers at all."

She has taught for about 25 years and says over the last 12 years conditions had eroded.
"It's got worse under both National and Labour — it's not a political thing but a professional thing. Enough is enough."