Teachers on strike in Blenheim have taken to the streets to warn people that low wages and understaffing is costing children the most.
Kindergarten teacher Roxy Jones was one of them, gathering at Seymour Square on Thursday morning.
She said she had become so burnt out, due to changes in the profession over her 40-year career, that she had to stop working full-time.
Anthony Phelps/Stuff
Teachers and supporters line Seymour St in central Blenheim.
“Teaching is not like it used to be,” Jones said, holding a placard by the roadside. “I think people are tired, and it’s taking its toll, so some are deciding to retire early.
READ MORE:
* Why the government is driving a hard bargain as teachers leave the class for the picket line
* By the Numbers: Why teachers are walking off the job on Thursday
* Why kindergarten teachers are joining the nationwide strike
“Trying to meet all the children’s needs is getting harder, the needs are greater now for whānau and their children.”
Jones said early childhood teachers were expected to do much more than they did in years gone by. The increasing workload coupled with current funding levels was “not enough”, she said.
“This has been going on for a really long time, it’s just an uphill battle.”
Jones was a member of New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI). The trade union had teamed up with the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to strike collectively on Thursday during nationwide strikes at the lack of progress in their collective agreement negotiations.
Anthony Phelps/Stuff
An array of placards are on display at Seymour Square.
Morning commuters beeped at the array of placards on Seymour St, with signs saying “I’d rather be teaching, but this is important,” and “Can you read this? You’re welcome!”.
Stella Machadon, a University of Canterbury student, and primary school student teacher, was also protesting in Blenheim on Thursday, as she said the current negotiations would affect the rest of her career.
“It’s really hard to be motivated to go into the profession, when you know what you’ll be stepping into,” she said.
Though she said student teachers weren’t part of the negotiations, she said many of them were NZEI members, and “wanted to add their two cents”.
Anthony Phelps/Stuff
Marlborough Boys College teacher Graham Smith, left, and Marlborough Girls’ College teacher Simon Curnow.
Simon Curnow, Marlborough Girls’ College curriculum leader for languages, and PPTA member, said a lot of secondary school teachers were “in it for the love, because we love doing it”.
“Conditions and pay, they’re all wrapped up together. We started negotiations in May last year, and they’ve come up with nothing concrete to meet the needs of secondary teachers,” Curnow said.
“I think what we want is fair pay, that is indexed to the CPI (Consumer Price Index), I mean, basically what they’ve come through with is a pay cut, in real terms, for most teachers,” he said.
As many as 50,000 teachers and principals across the country were expected to join the industrial action, as both PPTA and NZEI members pushed for better conditions and pay rates.
Anthony Phelps/Stuff
Dr Michael Harvey says secondary students need more support than the current number of staffers can give.
Dr Michael Harvey, PPTA Marlborough chairperson, said more than 150 secondary and area school teachers in Marlborough were striking on Thursday.
Both Marlborough Boys’ College and Marlborough Girls’ College were closed on Thursday, but Harvey said some non-union staff members would be at the schools in case students turned up.
“Sadly, we have made little progress on some of our key claims … We are facing a worsening shortage of subject specialist teachers in our schools, despite the best efforts of our highly qualified and passionate members to compensate for the associated challenges,” he said.
“We need a collective agreement with pay rates and conditions that will keep teachers in the profession, attract graduates into teaching, and encourage ex-teachers to return to the job they love, in order to maintain New Zealand as a world leading public education system.”
Harvey said Marlborough Girls’ and Boys’ Colleges required two more full-time pastoral care roles per school.
“Because as the school population is changing, there’s a lot more pastoral issues coming forward, so having those two positions, per school, would be great,” he said.
Anthony Phelps/Stuff
Ariana McIntyre, NZEI Marlborough branch chair and Blenheim School teacher, says primary school and kindergarten teachers need more support staff.
Ariana McIntyre, Blenheim School teacher and NZEI Marlborough branch chair, said there were 320 NZEI members on strike in her branch area, which included the Marlborough Sounds and Kaikōura.
She did not know how many primary schools in the region were closed on Thursday, but said she thought it would be most, if not all.
The main change primary school and kindergarten teachers across the country wanted was better working conditions, McIntyre said.
“So more support staff, more people on the ground level, helping children with their needs.”
