PPTA Te Wehengarua warned the strike would cause widespread disruption and argued the Government’s pay offer failed to address worsening staff shortages and soaring workloads.
Around 2000 Waikato secondary teachers walked off the job yesterday as part of nationwide industrial action.
Post Primary Teachers’ Association Te Wehengarua (PPTA) said the strike was in response to a Government pay offer that “failed to address worsening staff shortages and soaring workloads”.
Regional secretary and Rototuna High Schoolteacher Emily Duke said the union was trying to retain teachers, but the current offer did not account for inflation.
“The offer that has been put forward is 1% per year over three years,” she said.
Chloe Wilshaw-Sparkes, the union’s Waikato regional chairwoman, said 2089 members were active in the region, the majority of whom were secondary teachers.
Wilshaw-Sparkes said most secondary teachers across Waikato were PPTA members, and the impact of the rostering had been significant.
Teacher shortages were being felt “across the board”, and principals “struggled to find suitable applicants for almost any position”.
No schools officially reported cancelling classes because of staffing issues.
Members from the Waikato branch of the PPTA were on strike across Hamilton.
Wilshaw-Sparkes said frustration about working conditions escalated after the Government offered a 1% pay rise in July.
“Inflation is more than twice that, and we are already in a cost-of-living crisis. To ask us to accept a real-terms pay cut is insulting.”
She said the offer did not include progress on other key claims around workload and resourcing, and said recent branch meetings had been marked by “frustration and exhaustion”.
“The PPTA would like to see the Government take our claims seriously.
“Competitive pay and improved resourcing of schools is necessary to encourage new teachers into the profession and retain the teachers who are already here.”
There had been “lots of support from the public” about the protest, she said.
“Parents in our community know us and see how hard we work for their kids. Ultimately, we teachers are on the same side as whānau. We are both working to get the best for our rangatahi.”
Protesters outside MP Ryan Hamilton's office. Photo / Tom Eley
Across New Zealand, nearly 20,000 secondary school teachers were on strike yesterday.
The union said that, if no progress was made with the Ministry of Education, schools would have to start rostering students home regularly and not teach certain year levels on specific dates from September 15.
The ministry said it was disappointed that the PPTA chose to take strike action so early in the bargaining process, while mediated discussions were “under way”.
Anna Welanyk, the ministry’s hautū (leader) education workforce, said the PPTA had advised that 38 Waikato schools, plus Te Kura (the correspondence school), had been named in the strike notice.
“The unions are aware that strike action will impact student learning and achievement and create disruption for parents.
“The Government continues to demonstrate its commitment to bargain for a settlement on teacher pay.”
Welanyk said school boards were responsible for deciding whether to stay open, close, or provide supervision if non-union staff were available.
Guidance and advice had been provided to help schools prepare, and the ministry was working with the NZ School Boards Association to support them.
She said teacher numbers were increasing, with the schooling workforce growing by 2.5% in 2024, the largest year-on-year increase since records began.
“Teacher retention is holding steady at around 90% and we continue to see increasing interest in teaching as a career from both school leavers and career changers.”
“Significant investment” was being made to increase the supply of teachers, including overseas recruitment and domestic training, and the ministry expected up to 1200 secondary teachers to enter the workforce in 2025.
Talking to Herald NOW’s Ryan Bridge yesterday, Associate Education Minister David Seymour defended the Government’s offer, saying teachers’ pay had already increased by 14% in the past few years, and that 60% of teachers earned more than $100,000.
