Kerre Woodham: How can teachers justify the continued disruption?

The secondary teachers are out again.  

They're appalled and insulted by the Government's latest pay offer. For the record, the Governments offered a 1% pay rise every year for three years in collective agreement negotiations. PPTA President Chris Abercrombie says the offer is the lowest increase in a generation and 18-19,000 teachers will be out protesting today. Chris Abercrombie said the Government's offer was appalling, and argued that it failed to help efforts to recruit and retain teachers within the workforce. The Government's also failing, he says, to address other PPTA claims – more pastoral care staffing, professional development for curriculum and assessment, more support for curriculum leaders who will be working on upcoming NCEA changes. If no progress is made, we have been warned, the PPTA says they will roster students home and not teach certain year levels on specific days from September 15th. 

If this all sounds familiar, it is. Here's a press release from Jan Tinetti in 2023, basically two years ago, when she was Minister for Education. The Government has agreed to support the independent arbitration panel's recommendation to increase secondary teachers' base salaries by 14.5% by December 2024. The increase will see beginner teachers receive an annual increase of almost $10,000 in addition to their $7,210 lump sum payment. The offer provides an increase of 36% for teachers at the top of the pay scale. She acknowledges the disruption to students, young people, and their parents who were kept out of the classroom. The panel's recommendation adds an extra cost of approximately $680 million to the $3.76 billion already set aside in the budget to settle teachers’ and principals’ agreements. That money includes an increase to other education collective agreements which will flow on from the decision. 

So where are we at? Surely the PPTA doesn't expect 14% increases every bloody year. I mean, that's farcical. And if the strike and the promise of more strikes and rostering students home and not teaching certain year levels sounds familiar it’s because in 2023, that's what happened from March, all through the school yea —never the holidays— there were strikes. Year levels were rostered home. There were national strikes. As the teacher said, we haven't received enough from past governments and this Labour government, so it went to independent arbitration and the panel recommended that the base salaries be increased by 14.5%. Which came in in December 2024. Eight months later, they're striking again?  

Does this happen every year? Every year we get this. Surely if you're striking and the deal is set that you get pay increases and they come in in December 2024, wouldn't you be factoring in that this will last you for a bit? That that this will do you for the next couple of years? Or parents and teachers going to be seeing kids locked out every year over months and months and months. This kind of disruption is completely, I would have thought, utterly unacceptable. If there hadn't been a pay settlement in 2023, which came into effect in December 24, fill your boots. I'd be out there with a bloody placard with you. But how can you justify going out again and closing the classrooms again after the enormous disruption of Covid? And then the enormous disruption of 2023 with national strikes and rolling strikes. How can it be in the best interests of young people and the profession to disrupt the schools in this way? You know, for $3.76 billion for teachers’ and principals’ salary and package agreements, maybe we could spend that a different way. You know, with AI here now, the PPTA has to be very, very careful that they don't strike themselves out of existence.   

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Carrywood and Morning's podcast from News Talk.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Said b the secondary teachers are out again. They're appalled
and insulted by the government's latest payoffer. For the record,
the government's offered a one percent pay rise every year
for three years in collective agreement negotiations. PBTA President Chris
Abercrombie says the offer is the lowest increase in a generation.

(00:33):
Eighteen to nineteen thousand teachers will be out protesting today,
which is pretty much the full compliment. Probably about seven
or eight thousand who aren't, But most of the secondary
school teachers are out on the streets and if you
have a secondary school student in your life, they are
at home or God knows where, doing God knows what
with God knows whom. Chris Abercrombie said the government's offer

(00:57):
was appalling and I argued that it failed to help
efforts to recruit and retain teachers within the workforce. The
government's also failing here, says to address other PPTA claims,
more pastoral care staffing, professional development for curriculum and assessment,
more support for curriculum leaders who will be working on

(01:17):
upcoming in CEA changes. If no progress is made. We
have been warned. The PPTA says they will roster students
home and not teach certain year levels on specific days
from September fifteen. If this all sounds familiar, it is.

(01:37):
Here's a press release from Jantinetti in twenty twenty three,
so just basically two years ago, when she was Minister
for Education. The government has agreed to support the Independent
Arbitration Panel's recommendation to increase secondary teachers base salaries by
fourteen point five percent by December twenty twenty four, so

(02:02):
December twenty twenty four was.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Months ago.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
The increase will see beginner teachers receive an annual increase
of almost ten thousand dollars in addition to their seven
two hundred and ten dollars lump sum payment. The offer
provides an increase of thirty six percent for teachers at
the top of the payscale. She acknowledges the disruption to students,
young people and their parents who were kept out of

(02:30):
the classroom. The panel's recommendation adds an extra cost of
approximately six hundred and eighty million to the three point
seven six billion already set aside in the budget to
settle teachers and principles agreements. This includes that money includes
an increase to other education collective agreements which will flow

(02:51):
on from the decision. So where are we at. Surely
the PPTA doesn't expect fourteen percent increases every bloody year.
I mean that's far. And if the strike and the
promise of more strikes and rostering student students home and

(03:16):
not teaching certain year levels sounds familiar, it's because in
twenty twenty three, that's what happened from March all through
the school year, never the holidays. There were strikes, year
levels were rostered at home, there were national strikes. As
the teacher said, we haven't received enough from past governments

(03:38):
and this labor government. So it went to independent arbitration
and the panel recommended that the base salaries be increased
by fourteen and a half percent, which came in in
December twenty twenty four. Eight months later, they're striking again.

(04:02):
Does this happen every year? Every year we go at this?
You know, surely if you're striking and the deal is
set that you get pay increases and they come in
December twenty twenty four, wouldn't you be factoring in that

(04:23):
this will last you for a bit that this will
do you for the next couple of years. Or are
parents and teachers going to be seeing kids locked out
every year over months and months and months. This kind

(04:47):
of disruption is completely, I would have thought and utterly
unacceptable if there hadn't been a pay settlement in twenty
twenty three, which came into effect in December twenty four,
Philly Boots, I'd be out there with a bloody placard
with you. But how can you justify going out again
and closing the classrooms again after the enormous disruption of

(05:11):
COVID and then the enormous disruption of twenty twenty three
with national strikes and rolling strikes. How can it be
in the best interests of young people and the profession
to do this, to disrupt the schools in this way.

(05:36):
You know, for three point seventy six billion dollars for
teachers and principles salary and package agreements, professional package agreements,
maybe we could spend that a different way, you know,
with AI here now, the PPTA has to be very

(05:58):
very careful that they don't strike themselves out of existence.

Speaker 1 (06:03):
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