Teachers back longer strike
Striking Invercargill primary school teachers are backing the notion of a second nationwide two-day strike if their pleas for better conditions continue to go unheard
Yesterday, more than 400 Southland members of the primary teachers’ union NZEI Te Riu Roa joined the 30,000 teachers and principals striking across the country.
Teachers gathered at ILT Stadium Southland in Invercargill and cheered loudly in support of a two-day strike when NZEI Southland principals representative Peter Hopwood asked whether they preferred that or a national rolling strike.
While that was an informal poll for further action, a national electronic vote would be held at a later date to formally decide what action members would take.
Hopwood was surprised by the support for the two-day strike, saying he expected the Invercargill teachers would have wanted to support a national region-by-region strike.
It clearly showed how frustrated the teachers were, he said.
The lack of resourcing and lack of money put so much pressure on teachers and legislative changes meant an increased workload, requiring them to take more responsibility, he said.
Schools were dealing with an increasing amount of children who had special needs and the resourcing to support them was limited.
Waverley Park School principal Kerry Hawkins said it was simply a case of overcrowded classrooms and under-resourced teachers.
The strike was about getting the support teachers needed now,
while also ensuring there would be teachers to support the future roll growth that was expected, Hawkins said.
To fill the gaps in the workforce that were being created by people leaving and fewer people coming in, there would need to be more money for teachers.
About 104 schools from south Otago and Southland joined the 1479 schools nationwide to close as teachers took industrial action for the first time in 24 years.
Rallies were held throughout the country, aiming to gain attention for better pay, conditions and incentives to attract new teachers.
In the next decade, it was predicted that 30 per cent of today’s teachers would not be in the profession.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said almost 30,000 teachers and principals striking should have stayed around the negotiating table longer.
‘‘When you compare where we were with the nurses ... there were four offers in total before they made that decision. In this case, there has been one, so I think there were still conversations to be had,’’ Ardern said.