The Government’s decision to offer some primary teachers individual employment agreements is an attack on the strong collective decision by the majority of teachers to keep fighting for a deal that fairly values their work, NZEI Te Riu Roa primary teacher leader Liam Rutherford says.
Mr Rutherford condemned Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche’s decision today to issue a new Individual Employment Agreement for non-union primary teachers, saying the move was a deliberate and serious breach of good faith and would undermine teachers’ collective bargaining.
“The Government is employing divisive tactics to undermine teachers’ fight to get fair recognition of our work. Our teachers deserve a fair deal that reflects their value, not sinister manoeuvres designed to break our unity,” Mr Rutherford said.
He said NZEI Te Riu Roa would file urgent legal action and ask the Public Service Commission to meet and discuss its proposal with the union first.
“This comes on the back of the offer from the Public Service Commissioner last week which ignored the reality of the expectations that the Government is putting on us,” Mr Rutherford said. “A measly $5 a night increase in a $25 overnight camp allowance was a slap in the face for our members.
“The Government is demanding we implement sweeping, rushed curriculum changes, yet they refuse to pay us for doing the extra work and consistently undervalue our work in supporting students through these changes. There is widespread frustration regarding the pace of curriculum changes and its impact on ākonga and their learning,” Mr Rutherford said.
Three days of mediation last week failed to break an impasse in primary teacher negotiations. At mediation, the Public Service Commissioner’s offer, which was very similar to the one primary teachers collectively voted to reject in December, included:
• a $5 increase to the camp allowance
• shuffling unit values by cutting the first-year increase just to pad the second year one
• a Professional Learning Development fund for relievers that benefited external providers rather than putting money in relievers’ pockets
• changing the associate teacher allowance to a “minimum rate”.