Teachers will leave classrooms on Thursday to protest working conditions.
Teachers will leave classrooms on Thursday to protest working conditions.
A nationwide teachers’ strike will cause many schools to close across Whanganui in the sector’s largest protest since 2019.
Up to 50,000 teachers will leave schools and kindergartens on Thursday after the latest offer made by the Ministry of Education to the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa was rejected in ongoing negotiations that began in May 2022.
Co-owner of Mischief Cafe and parent, Debra Frederick, said her partner will have to use up annual leave to take the day off work on Thursday to look after the kids.
“It’s pretty inconvenient but I understand why they’re doing it.”
Frederick said it’s hard for the children because they’ve only just gotten into a routine after the school holidays.
Carlton School in Whanganui, where the majority of teachers are affiliated with NZEI Te Riu Roa, will be one of the few schools keeping its doors open.
Principal Gary Johnston said parents could choose whether to send their kids to school on Thursday but most would be attending.
“We have enough teachers working to make the decision to stay open to support our community because we’re very aware that it puts a huge burden on parents, so we fully support our NZEI colleagues but I also want to ensure that our own community aren’t disadvantaged by the message which needs to go to the Ministry.”
Johnston said attendance rates at Carlton School had been very good and he would like to maintain that.
“We just want to get on with teaching.”
Carlton School principal Gary Johnston. Photo / Bevan Conley
Teacher and Union representative Lysha Brennan said the decision to strike had not been taken lightly and was a “last resort”.
NZEI teachers would like the Ministry of Education to enforce equity for early childhood educators, smaller class sizes, and more time allocated for planning lessons and professional development courses.
Brennan said negotiating for higher pay was only a small part of the strike, as the more pressing issue facing teachers was the extended hours spent working outside of classroom time which takes up their evenings and weekends.
“At the moment we don’t feel we’re seen as professionals.”
Brennan said a reduction in the teacher-to-student ratio would allow for increased support for children with higher needs.
“We want to ensure that teaching is an attractive career opportunity because if we’re not future-proofed no one’s going to see us as a viable option in the future.”
Brennan said she hoped the strike would help parents realise and have time to reflect on what teachers do that day.
“It’s all about fighting for the children and their voices so that they have more time and support during the day.”
Last week the Ministry of Education said its offer provided “significant increases”, including boosting the top rate of pay for primary school teachers to $96,820.
“Primary teachers were also offered improvements to many of the conditions that NZEI has been looking to address, including making sure teachers could spend one day per fortnight out of the classroom for activities like student conferencing, assessment, and preparation.
“As well as kindergarten teachers receiving the same increases, we set aside over $380 million so that pay parity can be maintained for all registered early learning teachers.”
The teachers will gather in Whanganui from 12-1pm at the Cobham Bridge Roundabout on Lifiton St.
In Taihape, teachers will meet at the town clock from 8.30-10am, and in South Taranaki they will be in the Hawera Town Square from 10am-12pm.
* Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the majority of teachers at Carlton School were not affiliated with NZEI Te Riu Roa.
