By DITA DE BONI education reporter
After a bitter 17-month industrial dispute secondary teachers have called a truce - for now.
PPTA delegates at the union's 50th annual meeting in Wellington this week are still steamed about the implementation of NCEA Level 1, what they consider the haphazard introduction of Level 2, and that a group of mostly technology teachers are locked out of the 12 to 25 per cent pay gain deal they've just signed.
Outgoing PPTA president Jen McCutcheon handed guest speaker Trevor Mallard yesterday afternoon an olive branch, along with an awkward kiss of greeting that drew a gasp of horror from delegates.
Ms McCutcheon's only raspberry for the Minister of Education was her observation that the secondary sector was "not [his] favourite [education] sector", a reference to the minister's famously close relationship with the primary and kindergarten teacher union, the NZEI, and his support of pay parity.
Mr Mallard, also in a conciliatory mood, acknowledged that the Ministry of Education and its agencies had "underestimated the level of work required to achieve Level 1". Nevertheless, the country could "not afford to lose momentum with the new qualification".
Teachers call truce over industrial dispute
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