NZ teachers on strike force 2,000 schools to shut dow

The education sector has hit a 'crisis point'

BY Rachel Ranosa 16 Aug 2018

An estimated 29,000 school teachers took to the streets in New Zealand to demand higher pay from the Ministry of Education. The full-day strike forced approximately 2,000 schools to shut down, reported Radio NZ.

Primary and intermediate school teachers and principals who belong to the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) union are protesting against low pay, large class sizes, excessive administrative assignments, and a looming teacher shortage, The Guardian reported.

The union said it had earlier rejected a government offer of a 14% pay increase over three years for a small segment of the teaching workforce and a 2.5% increase for a greater number of teachers.

The protesters are instead demanding a 16% pay hike over two years along with better benefits and work-life balance to retain teachers and encourage young talent to go into the profession. The union added that 40% fewer people have been joining the education sector in the past eight years.

The NZEI is pressuring the education ministry to allocate more time to teaching and less time to administrative tasks, and to cluster students into smaller classes.

“There needs to be better investment in education so every child can reach their potential and we have enough teachers for every class,” said Louise Green, lead negotiator for the NZEI, who believes the sector has hit a “crisis point”.

The rallies reportedly affected 400,000 school children, prompting community centres to mount special activities to accommodate them. Some workplaces allowed parents to come in for the day with their children or to take time off.

The government hopes to resolve the issues “at the table,” said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

“We have expectations we have to meet for the wider electorate, and it isn’t an endless amount [of money] we have available to us to meet those expectations,” she said.