Primary school teachers throughout Aotearoa New Zealand are going ahead with a planned strike on 23 October in response to a lack of progress with their collective agreement negotiations.
Around 1,300 area school teacher members will increase the number of NZEI Te Riu Roa educators going on strike to more than 40,000, including primary school teachers, primary principals, school support staff, and Ministry of Education specialist staff.
Teachers are urging the Government to address the many issues in education and say these haven’t been addressed in collective agreement offers.
New Zealand’s largest strike in decades
The full day national primary school teachers’ strike on 23 October coincides with striking nurses, midwives, doctors, dentists and other healthcare workers.
Education and health employees will participate in rallies in towns and cities all over Aotearoa as a result of rejected pay offers from the Government in collective agreement negotiations.
Te Hautū Kahurangi Tertiary Education is encouraging members to support the extensive strike by 100,000 health and education workers. Council of Trade Unions (CTU) president Richard Wagstaff told RNZ, “it would be the biggest walk-off in about 40 years.”
Reasons behind the ongoing strike action
“The pay increase being offered is still below current and projected rates of inflation and the offer fails to address the issues that are at the heart of our claims,” says PPTA president Chris Abercrombie.
“We need salaries and conditions that will attract people into teaching and keep our skilled and experienced teachers in the profession, particularly as we face once in a generation reforms of our secondary school curriculum and qualifications systems.”
“We are currently hundreds of teachers short which means that thousands of students are being taught by teachers who are not specialists in the relevant subject, and we have seen students being sent home this year because there are simply not enough teachers to take classes.”
Chris Abercrombie said the Government needed to consider the international research released last week that keeping up with changing requirements was a significant stressor for teachers in Aotearoa.
He said the Government’s offer also ignored teachers’ claims for more pastoral staffing to help the increasing number of students who had health and emotional needs which were preventing them from engaging fully with learning.
“Getting such help must be part and parcel of a quality education. We want more pastoral care staff in our schools to ensure that those students are able to achieve and thrive.”
Comments from the classroom
NZEI Te Riu Roa members say they want secure work and pay that addresses increases in the costs of living. They also need more support for children in the classroom, to uphold Te Tiriti, and for te reo Māori.
Raewyn Himona, a deputy principal covered by the Area School Teachers’ Collective Agreement, told the NZEI she’s joining the strike to support kaiako Māori, who are overworked and undervalued. “We carry te reo me ōna tikanga, care for our tamariki, and lead cultural practices — often without fair pay or support. I’m striking for our profession and a better future for our tamariki. He kaupapa mō te tika.”
Ways to show support
For those unable to attend the strikes on the 23rd of October, the PPTA has created some resources for teachers, whānau and friends to show their support.
This letter writing tool on the PPTA campaign website helps you craft a letter to the Minister for Education, Hon. Erica Stanford, to share why you are striking: ppta.org.nz/campaigns/write-to-minister-stanford
This tool has been created by For Purpose to help members of the community show their message of support for striking workers on social media: forpurpose.nz/standing-with
