Teachers Strike

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tdgeek

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#249473 12-May-2019 18:31

While its a teachers issue, its obviously a political issue.

Now, we will see the bleating from the Nats, here is another strike, thats what you get with Labour. And we will see the bleating from Labour, this didn't start just 18 months ago.

So, aside from that, are teachers that hard done by? Hipkins has offered what seems to be a good package update, but still they strike.

When parts of the health sector striked, that was seen as needed but it was also seen as excessive and greedy, due to the package they were offered.

So while I expect the usual partisan one sided commentary from either side, those who can take an objective view, what do you think?

I feel that they have valid demands, but they are going too hard. Whether inheriting past lack of attention is factual or not, they cannot expect to get everything taken care of, its not Brunei, here

Edit, link

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/112655087/teachers-have-voted-to-strike-on-may-29

Bluntj

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#2235591 12-May-2019 20:44

I am sure this has been commented on before. My response is still the same where a primary teacher has been offered close to $10k increase/annum and still decides to hold parents ransom then that is called greed in my book.

It doesnt matter who you vote for, the number of strikes has been crazy since the last election without any law changes. I assume the unions all see the current government as a soft touch.

dejadeadnz

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#2235667 12-May-2019 22:35

The teachers are far too greedy. Lots of professionals with equally stressful (if not more stressful jobs), e.g. advanced paramedics and nurses, are on similar money. And none of them gets the holidays that teachers do. Yes, teachers like to tell us how they work full time during holidays but for some reason the 5 or so that my wife and I know constantly have time to post their holiday snaps on Facebook.

Whatever one thinks of this government's policies towards unions (and this is coming from someone who truly despises most of the large unions), they have stood very firm on the pay offer. And good on them. The PPTA is one of the most ridiculously militant and unreasonable unions imaginable and the NZEI will soon find out it's a mistake to copy their ways.

Varkk

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#2235873 13-May-2019 11:53

Teachers are asking for the pay level they were getting 10 or so years ago, before it was eroded by sub-inflation increases. Also there is a massive recruitment and retention crisis hitting the profession. Most highschools around the country have several open positions which they can't fill due to a lack of applicants. fewer people are studying to become a teacher, and those that do are staying in the profession for less time. The primary reasons for this are workloads and pay. The unions have been asking the government to address these issues for some time. But it has now reached a point where they are finally stamping their feet and saying they must act now.

tdgeek

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#2235880 13-May-2019 12:08

I get that. Irregardless of the past, I feel they have been given a good offer, and I assume like the nurses there are nice increases in following years? I cant recheck now as I don't want to see a sports result, but has the Govt made any announcements of teacher training increases? I do recall that most teacher levels will be classed as high income, top 20% rings a bell, under this offer

elpenguino

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#2240282 17-May-2019 23:22

Bluntj:

I am sure this has been commented on before. My response is still the same where a primary teacher has been offered close to $10k increase/annum

You're wrong. The offer is 10k over 3 years.

Source: A teacher trainee told me.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

elpenguino

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#2240283 17-May-2019 23:31

dejadeadnz:

The teachers are far too greedy. Lots of professionals with equally stressful (if not more stressful jobs), e.g. advanced paramedics and nurses, are on similar money. And none of them gets the holidays that teachers do. Yes, teachers like to tell us how they work full time during holidays but for some reason the 5 or so that my wife and I know constantly have time to post their holiday snaps on Facebook.

That's confirmation bias added to the facebook illusion of happy families though isn't it?

Nobody posts when they're up to their eyeballs in paperwork and prep.

I can tell you one thing I don't envy teachers for - dealing with other people's children is a special type of hell. There is a great many 'problem' children for teachers to cope with :from autism sufferers, kids from broken homes, disrespectful snotbags to kids who are allowed to stay up too late.

TBH i wouldn't do it for the money on offer, holidays or not.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

Rikkitic

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#2240303 18-May-2019 09:05

elpenguino:

I can tell you one thing I don't envy teachers for - dealing with other people's children is a special type of hell. There is a great many 'problem' children for teachers to cope with :from autism sufferers, kids from broken homes, disrespectful snotbags to kids who are allowed to stay up too late.

This is a good point. Teachers have to (are expected to) deal with a lot of stuff that isn't strictly teaching. I don't know what is fair for them but I wouldn't want to have to do it.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

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GV27

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#2240583 18-May-2019 16:15

Eh, hard to say. I have no issues with teachers getting more, much in the same way you also want schools to be better resourced and literacy rates to be improved and all that stuff. I mean, who really doesn't want that on some level?

Where I think the teachers will come a cropper is rhetoric that ignores the fact that all people, be civil servants or otherwise, are struggling to make wages keep up with housing costs, transport costs etc. So while you might not be able to afford a house 'near' where you teach, there's plenty of people who are in the same boat in the wider world too, and very few of them will be in a position to turn down a 10% pay-rise, even if they were being offered one.

Unfortunately, it's extra taxes collected from that same wider struggling population that will need to fund what the teachers want, so getting offside with the wider public won't help.

I think there's also some simmering of anti-teacher sentiment due to perceived shorter hours, additional perks like longer PPL, the opposition to charter schools and resistance to 'performance' measurement - regardless of legitimacy of any actual issues there, some on the hard right are obsessed with breaking teacher unions and they'll probably be pretty vocal too.

I really don't know what either side is going to do; tbh I wasn't expecting the nurses to back down but they apparently did. I can't see Jacinda deregistering a teacher's union and both sides are still ramping up the rhetoric. Don't think we'll see a result any time soon.