Taranaki secondary and area school teachers to strike on Wednesday

A group of teachers picketing in Stratford earlier this year. Photo / Ilona Hanne

Secondary and area school teachers across the country will participate in rolling strikes this week as negotiations continue with the Government.

In Taranaki, the strike action takes place on Wednesday, May 10.

A last-minute offer from the Ministry of Education was declined by the Post Primary Teachers’ Association Te Wehengarua (PPTA). The PPTA said the offer was still sitting below the cost of living increase. PPTA acting president Chris Abercrombie said the association has considered the offer and decided against it.

Kijiana Pene, chairwoman of PPTA Te Wehengarua Taranaki region, says the union has been in negotiations with the Ministry of Education for more than a year.

“Despite taking such a long time, PPTA Te Wehengarua members are firmly committed to getting a collective agreement with salary rates and conditions that will keep teachers in the profession, attract graduates into teaching and encourage ex-teachers to return to the job they love. We need this now more than ever, as schools are finding it increasingly difficult to find subject-specialist teachers when vacancies arise.”

The lack of specialist teachers greatly impacts students, she says, adding a recent secondary staffing survey carried out by PPTA Te Wehengarua found that 30 per cent of schools were forced to cancel classes or transfer them to other providers because they didn’t have enough specialist subject teachers.

“Teaching is amazing work – helping young people to acquire the knowledge, skills and qualifications they need is hugely rewarding. However, our work needs to be valued more, with better salary rates and decent conditions. Subject-specialist teachers’ skills and attributes are highly sought-after outside education, and many teachers are leaving for jobs that pay better and are more manageable. For the sake of our rangatahi, secondary teaching needs to be a first-choice career.”

On Wednesday, Taranaki PPTA Te Wehengarua members will meet from 11.30am – 12.30pm at Puke Ariki Landing where they will hīkoi, demonstrating on the streets of New Plymouth CBD. The march will start at Ariki Street, move on to Egmont Street, then along Devon Street East, Gover Street and along Gill Street back to the landing, says Kijiana.

“The Government is responsible for ensuring that every young person in Aotearoa New Zealand has the opportunity to make great life choices by having a quality secondary education – one which gives them the skills and qualifications they need to live their best lives and make a fantastic contribution to New Zealand society. Every ākonga deserves a specialist teacher in every subject. We urge the Government to take its responsibility seriously - invest in teachers, invest in Aotearoa New Zealand.”