The Greens backing teachers’ demands

Written By: - Date published: 9:53 am, March 16th, 2023 - 10 comments
Categories: employment, Unions, workers' rights - Tags: ,

Press release from the NZ Green Party


The Green Party backs the demands of the teachers’ strikers.

“The wellbeing of our teachers is the wellbeing of our tamariki. The Green Party is calling on the Government to prioritise our teachers and address the many issues the sector faces” says Green Party’s education spokesperson, Teanau Tuiono.

“Teachers make such a difference to children’s lives. They make a huge contribution to our communities, and they are valued by so many families across Aotearoa.

“However, while they may be valued by many of us, they have not been valued by the Government. The work is often demanding and underpaid.

“Today’s strike is necessary because previous offers from the Government have not been enough.

“The Government needs to come to the table and ensure teacher pay keeps pace with the rising cost of putting food on the table, paying the rent, and keeping the house warm.

“But, it’s important to remember that this is not just about pay. There are serious issues around funding and understaffing, ratios and sick leave.

“The Greens would ensure that every teacher is valued so that every child in Aotearoa can reach their full potential with a high-quality, accessible public education. With more Green MPs and Green Ministers, we can make this happen,” says Teanau Tuiono.

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PPTA website and NZEI website, with details on the strike.

RNZ backgrounders:

Schools of hard knocks: Striking teachers struggling within the system

‘I’m striking for our children’: Striking teachers in their own words

10 comments on “The Greens backing teachers’ demands ”

  1. Stephen 2

    That’s the issue for me. In my Year 7 class of 27, we have; 2 with ASD, 2 with ADHD, 2 severely dyslexic, and 3 with various degrees of anxiety. In addition the range of abilities goes from Year 3/4 level to Year 10.

    The curriculum stuff is no problem. Endless resources, both paper and online.

    For the other issues our formal training has been the best part of nonexistent. Most of us rely on commonsense and parenting skills. Tricky if you’re re young and newly qualified.

    Smaller class sizes, decent PD, and salary keeping up with inflation.

    That’s s all I want.

    • weka 2.1

      what's PD?

      Will the smaller classes and some training make the number of neuroatypical and kids with mental health issues manageable?

      • Leighton 2.1.1

        PD = Professional Development, I presume in particular to help teachers develop the skills to deal with the special needs they're increasingly being faced with.

      • Robert Guyton 2.1.2

        "Will the smaller classes and some training make the number of neuroatypical and kids with mental health issues manageable?"

        More manageable.

        If a teacher wants to transcend "bluntness" (Don't do that!) they need time to consider the individual students, opportunities to share thoughts with colleagues and access to up-to-date thinking around the issues of "neurotypical" thinkers.

    • adam 2.2

      Ask Grant Robertson the B.S. Lockwood Smith spun about tomorrow's schools.

      Oh wait sorry, more of the same from another government, who are ideologically in bed with far right economics.

      What the lay definition of mad again – something along the lines of, repeating the same action over and over, and expecting a different result.

      Can we afford this radical ideology to keep dominating our country?

      And slowly destroying public goods, like health and education.

  2. Peter 3

    Teachers have always been an easy target. And teaching.

    It's the job that's so easy, so cushy, everyone wants to do it. Not. It's the job that was described by George Bernard Shaw as, ‘Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.’

    I find it hard to believe the findings of one of the studies of teacher status.

    https://observatory.tec.mx/edu-news/status-of-teachers-global-analysis/

  3. Dottie 4

    Go back and negotiate your timing is pathetic,

    retired teacher.

    • Peter 4.1

      Timing? It's politics time. (Always is I suppose.)

      The Government could give teachers all they want. Won't that affect relativities and have chain reaction impacts? And in the perverse world we live in the Labour haters will be on about the 'pushover' Government and 'union blackmail.'

      Those who don't want teachers to get any more, think teachers have it sweet, would be in boots and all too.

      Timing in a bargaining sense? The Teachers' Collective Agreements ran from 1 July 2019 – 30 June 2022, with the following,

      "The expiry of a collective agreement does not necessarily mean the end of the agreement.

      Clause 53 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 says an expired collective agreement continues to be enforceable for a further 12 months, provided the union or the employer had, before the expiry date, initiated bargaining to replace the agreement."

  4. Gaynor 5

    When I was at primary school in the middle of last century at an ordinary decile school and class of 33 students in NZ there were no autistics ,hyperactives, dyslexics, nor anxiety ridden classmates. When we had round robin reading in the class every student could read at the correct level for their age albeit some a bit slower. Every kid had rote learned all their tables and we all did the same arithmetic exercises. There were few groups because everyone was achieving at a similar level. Not only has progressive education destroyed our standards of literacy and numeracy but made teaching impossible. I support the pay increase but also agitate for an overhaul of the entire system to reinstall more traditional teaching methods that actually work! Maybe rid society of junk food as well?

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