Strike looms for 29,000 teachers
School’s out for primary and intermediate school students as almost 30,000 teachers and principals strike for the first time in 24 years.
Dozens of rallies are planned around the country today, with educators hitting the streets in protest over pay, working conditions and the need for incentives to attract new teachers.
The Ministry of Education says 1264 schools across New Zealand – two out of every three schools with employees covered by the strike notice – are expected to close today.
The strike will affect hundreds of thousands of families. Parents have been warned by schools to make other arrangements during the day-long strike.
In Christchurch, teachers will meet in Cathedral Square before walking in three central city marches from noon. Similar events are happening on the West Coast and across the South Island.
Canterbury Chamber of Commerce general manager Leeann Watson said the strike will have a ‘‘big impact’’ on employers needing to juggle workers’ requests for time off.
‘‘It applies to anyone who is a parent with children at primary or intermediate . . . Even within our own organisation we’ve had to ask that question.
‘‘While many businesses offer flexibility there are certain situations and environments where that’s not possible.’’
For some, the strike means an unofficial ‘bring your child to work day’. Christchurch’s Cashmere High School has offered its teachers the option of taking their children to work, while others, such as Burnside High, asked staff to ‘‘make alternative arrangements’’, principal Phil Holstein said.
Linwood Avenue School principal Blair Dravitski said it was the first time his school would be closed for instruction in two years – it holds its teacher only days in the holidays. His whole staff would march together in one of 43 planned rallies across the country today. The ministry and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) entered mediation two weeks ago after the primary teachers’ union rejected the Government’s offer of pay rises ranging from 6.1 per cent to 14.7 per cent over the next three years.
Negotiation remained gridlocked yesterday. An NZEI spokesperson said negotiations were ongoing and that the ministry had made ‘‘no substantive changes to the offer to date’’.
The union seeks a 16 per cent pay rise over two years and extra non-contact time for teachers.
It fears a 40 per cent drop in the number of trainee teachers will leave New Zealand short 1800 primary school teachers by 2023 – a claim the ministry has rejected.