Hundreds of Northland teachers take to the streets for day of strike action

Teachers taking part in today’s national strike on the corner of Manse and Bank St, in the Regent, Whangārei, this morning. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Hundreds of Northland school teachers are joining around 50,000 of their colleagues on strike today after rejecting the latest offer from the Ministry of Education to settle their collective pay agreements.

Around 50,000 kindergarten, primary school, area school and high school teachers and principals are involved in today’s industrial action with thousands taking to the streets across the country to show their opposition to the pay offer.

Hundreds of teachers are making their stance across Northland too, with teachers standing at busy intersections this morning with placards and getting many toots of support from passing vehicles.

Northland’s main strike march gathered at 11am at Laurie Hall Park before marching through the city.

The rain isn’t deterring hundreds of Whangārei teachers from marching today as they gather at Laurie Hall Park.

Striking teachers march through Whangārei, calling for more pay and better conditions

Te Tai Tokerau Principals’ Association president Pat Newman says what has been particularly amazing is the “number of parents” who have come down to support teachers.

Signs read “I’d rather be teaching but this is important”

There’s vibrant energy around the strike but Newman said “nobody wants” to really be doing this.

”Wellington only listens when people stand up,” he said.

‘‘When I say more, you say resources,” this is the current chant as teachers and principals March through Whangārei.

“I can’t even afford to be at this strike, how ironic” one sign reads.

Phoebe Scrivener told the Advocate she is a new teacher and said “I’m barely scraping by.”

”It’s just really stressful,” she said. “I just want to see better working conditions for us and better learning conditions for the kids,” she added.

“Your kids deserve better funding for our schools,” another sign says.

“How do I choose who to help?” Another sign says, speaking to the apparent lack of resources many teachers are reporting.

Tauraroa Area School Teacher Andrea Cameron has been teaching for 24 years.

”It’s getting harder, not easier,” she said. ”We need to be acknowledged on how hard it is getting on what we actually are doing in the classroom.”

The march ended around 11.45am when hundreds gathered to hear various representatives speak.

”Let’s send a clear message to our government,” a spokesperson shouted on the loud speaker.

At a protest in the Regent, earlier today Whangārei Girls High School teacher Keri Urbahn said they’ve been “blown away” by all of the public support for the strike.

”Obviously we’re really tired, our tanks are empty, and we just feel that the Government needs to be held to account.

”I’m striking for our new emerging teachers, I want young people to want to be a teacher, and to stay teaching.”

English teacher Ali Higham has been teaching for three years. It’s her first time striking.

”I wasn’t expecting such a strong communal force behind us,” she said.

Debi Walters Brown said schools are “stymied with regards to funding”.

Striking teachers set off on their protest march through the city from Whangārei’s Lauri Hall Park

”They don’t have the funding to support getting more teachers in to cover us. I feel like teachers are overloaded.

“This is taking a huge amount of work and there isn’t that support from the government.”

She described herself as feeling “completely exhausted”

Kindergarten Teacher Shelley Shennan has been in her work for 40 years and said she has been a part of “many strikes”.

”I think it’s quite historic that we’re all in this together,” she said.

Kindergarten, primary and secondary school teachers are all striking today.

”It’s that unification we need to get our message across,” she said.

She said the strike for her is about “making sure our needs are met.”

“The differentiation between head teachers and teachers is only a few $1,000. And for that amount of work that kindy teachers have to do, something needs to be addressed,” Shennan said.

Striking teachers and supporters on Bank St outside Whangārei Primary School today. Photo / Michael Cunningham

”I feel sometimes we’re at the bottom of the heap and while we might have pay parity it’s the bare minimum of what we deserve”

“The broken model for ECE, you know there’s something wrong when there’s businesses that are making $80 million in profit off our children and yet there’s community centres and not-for-profit centres and kindergartens that are needing more and more funding to be able to just survive.”

She also said there are not enough resources for vulnerable children “to meet the needs” of the education they deserve.

Newman said it was time for the Ministry of Education to be “innovative” in finding solutions, because “the rubber band will only stretch so far”.

About 1300 teachers across Te Tai Tokerau were struggling with a lack of resources and staff, he said.

“Parents need to realise this is actually your children that are putting up with these conditions.

Kaitaia teachers were striking outside the town’s Pak N Save store today

“As far as the teachers and principals go, our profession is at crisis level. We’ve been talking with successive governments that something has to be done.”

Newman said drawing younger teachers into the profession should be a priority for the Government as he believed more needed to be done in this area.

“It’s a fantastic job but it’s killing those that are doing it.”

New Zealand Educational Institute Te Riu Roa president Mark Potter said the current offers from the Government “don’t do enough” for teachers, principals and tamariki.

“Strike action is the last thing we want to do, but members want to send a message to the government about how serious we are about needing change.”

Potter said the pay issue was just one reason for striking.

Whangārei Girls High School teacher Keri Urbahn was among the strikers in Whangārei. Photo / Michael Cunningham

“Of course the rising cost of living plays into this, but the bigger picture is that if we are to retain and attract quality educators we must improve work conditions in the sector.

“We all want the best for our students but without changes to the system, we can’t give it to them. This affects tamariki because teachers’ working conditions are children’s learning conditions.”

Ministry of Education employment relations and pay equity general manager Mark Williamson said the offer that NZEI members had rejected so far provided “significant increases”.

“For example, teachers at the top of the scale would earn $96,820 after eight years’ teaching.”

He said primary teachers were also offered improvements to many conditions NZEI seeks to address.

“We set aside over $380 million so that pay parity can be maintained for all registered early learning teachers. We have sought to resume bargaining urgently to avoid disruption to our learners, their families, employers and communities.”

Te Tai Tokerau Principals’ Association president Pat Newman ahead of the teachers’ strike march through Whangārei today