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New Zealand Primary teachers vote to walk out over pay

PRIMARY school teachers and heads in New Zealand have voted overwhelmingly for strike action over pay, warning the “crisis would become a disaster” if the government failed to respond to concerns.

The New Zealand Education Institute (NZEI) will stage a three-hour stoppage on August 15 and is discussing whether to extend the strike to a full day.

Teachers are demanding more classroom time and measures to address staff shortages.

They have rejected a pay offer of up to 2.6 per cent each year for the next three, saying it falls short of the 16 per cent over two years that members say is necessary to address recruitment and retention issues.

NZEI teachers’ lead negotiator Liam Rutherford warned that there was a “growing sense that the current crisis would become a disaster if the government did not get serious about the issues facing the profession.”

And principals’ lead negotiator Louise Green pointed out that primary teachers had not taken strike action since 1994, showing the “grave concerns” they have for the future of education.

“The government needs to take some courageous decisions now for the sake of children and their learning,” she charged.

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