2217 days ago

Classrooms of 40 students: Primary school teachers vote to strike over pay and work conditions

Brian from New Lynn

Primary school teachers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of going on strike again. The strikes will roll out over the country in just over a fortnight. The Auckland region is first to strike on 12 November, followed by the rest of the North Island, except Auckland and Wellington, on November 13. Next in line is wider Christchurch where teachers will walk off the job on November 14 followed by the rest of the South Island the next day.
Finally, on the Friday, it'll be Wellington's turn to finish off the week of rolling strike action.The fast becoming reality of many teachers in New Zealand is individually they teach classrooms upward of 40 pupils. "There are lots of schools that are struggling on a daily basis to even get a couple of relievers," Galdstone School Teacher Kahli Oliveira says. Ms Oliveira has taught for twenty years.Today her co-teacher was sick with laryngitis but there was no one to cover."I'm really scared that there are so many people like me that are not going to go back to teaching next year."Teachers want better pay, lower workloads and more resources. This led them to strike in August with the government offering up a three percent pay rise each year over the next three years.But the teachers union New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) wants a 16 percent rise over two years."You're going to need to open those purse strings a bit more and really focus in as well on that time and that support that we've been talking about, but we want to settle this," NZEI President Lynda Stuart says. Education Minister Chris Hipkins says he's disappointed but not surprised primary school teachers will strike again. "I certainly understand the issues that teachers are raising, we know we've got a lot of work to do there's no question about that."The strike means hundreds of children will stay at home for one day. But parents don't seem too put out. Those who Newshub spoke with supported teachers for their right to fight for their jobs. Hopes for any type of resolution now sits with the Employment Relations Authority - who will facilitate urgent bargaining between teachers and the ministry
Both sides insist they want to avoid another nationwide teacher strike.
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