September 19th, 2024
New Zealand primary school teachers have voted to turn down a third pay offer from the Ministry of Education, as growing living costs and classroom pressures continue to mount, according to a media release from the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI).
Barb Curran, lead negotiator for the Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement negotiation team, stated that the vote was a clear reflection of the teachers' growing frustration.
"This offer clearly did not meet members’ expectations sufficiently to settle our agreement. They want an offer that swiftly delivers additional time and staffing to enable teachers to support students. And they want a pay offer that will pay the bills, having seen no pay rise since July 2021 while the CPI has increased at record levels," she said.
The NZEI reported that teachers have been grappling with several issues for years, including high student numbers, insufficient support for students with complex learning needs, a shortage of relievers and beginning teachers, and a lack of non-contact time. The recent curriculum refresh has only intensified these pressures.
The Ministry of Education's recent announcement to decrease the teacher to student ratios in years 4-8 from 1:29 to 1:28 by 2025 was met with lukewarm response. While the change was welcomed, Curran noted that it was "too little and not fast enough." She asserted that these issues have persisted for decades and swift, meaningful class size reductions are necessary.
Curran pointed out that the drawn-out negotiations since July last year were not helping teachers feel valued. She said: "Members are feeling frustrated with the lack of progress, they’ve been almost a year without a signed agreement now because of the slow pace of negotiations."
NZEI members will now be surveyed to determine their next course of action. Curran stressed that the decision lies with the members, who have expressed dissatisfaction with the current offer.
The move comes as area school teachers joined their PPTA secondary school counterparts in rolling strikes across the country due to a lack of significant progress in their negotiations.