Latest News
Government ‘revising’ pay offer to teachers but says union must compromise too
The government is revising its pay offer for secondary teachers, following a nationwide strike, but the union would need to compromise too, Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche said.
Thousands of members of the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) walked off the job to protest their pay talks, forcing the closure of many secondary schools.
High schools close as secondary teachers go on strike
Teachers on picket lines told RNZ the government’s offer of a one percent pay rise every year for three years was “despicable, insulting and terrible”.
The Public Service Commission, which was overseeing the government’s side of the pay talks, had been at pains to note that teachers in the first 10 years of their career get annual pay rises as they progress up the pay scale.
But teachers said most of them were at the top of the scale and the one percent increases would be all they received.
Roche told RNZ in a statement: “This was always going to be a difficult bargaining round – the strike is evidence of that. Now that has happened, we have to find a way forward – we owe that to the students, parents and teachers.”
“Our initial offer clearly hasn’t hit the mark, and we are doing work on a revised offer.”
He said the union’s claim was not realistic.
“The PPTA’s current set of claims would cost taxpayers $1.7 billion over four years. That’s equivalent to an extra $67,000 for every full-time secondary teacher. It’s unaffordable, unreasonable and unrealistic.
Sir Brian Roche is the Public Service Commissioner. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
“Bargaining is about compromise and to date, and somewhat regrettably, the PPTA has refused to offer any real compromise on these claims. The government is committed to working with the PPTA to get a resolution.”
Education Minister, Erica Stanford, said the union should have called today’s strike off because it had agreed to further talks.
But PPTA president Chris Abercrombie said: “The government knew it had an opportunity yesterday to make a reasonable offer to us which could have encouraged us to reconsider our action. Unfortunately, no such offer was forthcoming.”
Meanwhile, on picket lines, teachers said they were frustrated that they had to strike to try to force a better offer from the government.
Wellington teacher Catharine de Montalk said she and her colleagues would be losing money if they accepted the offer.
“I don’t particularly want to be here. I feel like since my career started 20 years ago that I’ve been doing this every single pay round and it does get tired, it does get old but one percent is actually the lowest… it is an insult,” she said.
A teacher outside Parliament during the strike. Photo: RNZ / John Gerritsen
Outside Parliament, maths teacher Jennifer Crisp said the government’s offer was not reasonable.
“We think that’s entirely incorrect. It’s not a reasonable offer in this economy. Not when MPs have been given more than double that,” she said.
In Christchurch, teacher Richard Allen said the government’s offer was never going to fly.
“The knew that that wasn’t going to be acceptable right from the start and so it’s a shame that it’s come to this. To be fair we all want to teach so give us something more reasonable that we can work towards,” he said.
Several Wellington commuters said they supported the striking teachers.
Christian Shaw said the picket at Wellington Railway Station prompted him to do some online research which showed politicians were getting much better annual pay rises than what teachers were being offered.
“They’re willing to line their own pockets, more than happy, year after year, but they don’t want to give our teachers, our nurses… they just cut pay equity which is so important to so many people and they’re just taking the absolute piss,” he said.
His mate Jack Dyer said teachers were not paid enough – and he’d know, having abandoned the profession because of the pay rates for new teachers.
“I studied to become a teacher. I got my diploma of teaching for secondary schools and the starting rate there is just atrocious. Like after four years of study, a bachelor’s and a diploma, you’re coming out and making less than the median wage in Wellington, which is just bizarre,” he said.
Meanwhile, primary school teachers, support staff and principals belonging to the Educational Institute, Te Riu Roa, were holding stop-work meetings this week and next to discuss their pay talks.
rnz
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
rnz
Police say person who fired gun at officers still at large
New Zealand sides named for RLWC finals
Parliamentary Service working on extra chairs and offices for increased number of MPs
-
Latest News2 months ago‘Chilling’: Business groups speak out against National’s supermarket break-up plan
-
NZ News2 months agoTom Phillips report: The missed opportunities to find the children
-
Politics2 months agoNational vows to try to split Pak’nSave and New World
-
Latest News2 months agoCars bearing Chinese police markings stir unease in Auckland
-
Fiji News2 months agoPlans to have new Constitution by Dec 24th 2026
-
NZ News2 months agoCop who stole $68,000 can now be named as champion Muay Thai fighter Haimona Tamati-Te Paki
-
Politics2 months agoMBIE confirms botched biometric projects costs blown out to $50.7 million
-
Latest News2 months agoFive Karangahape Road venues lose their liquor licences after police intervention