New Zealand’s schools may close this week as 50,000 primary and secondary school teachers plan to strike.
The teachers say the pay rise offered by the Ministry of Education isn’t good enough and they need better pay and conditions to keep them in their jobs and to attract others to the profession.
This strike follows three years of Covid-19 disruptions and cyclone-related school closures in parts of the North Island. Union members have said that teachers are burnt out and need a break.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said he wants teachers to call off their strike, as students have missed a lot of time in the classroom over the past few years.
The Ministry of Education has asked the Educational Institute to resume bargaining urgently and has asked the Employment Relations Authority to facilitate bargaining with the Post Primary Teachers Association as soon as possible.
