Western Bay of Plenty secondary school teachers gathered today as part of a national strike against a 1% pay rise offer from the Government.

Members of the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) marched from Red Square in Tauranga’s city centre to a picket line at the Cameron Rd and Elizabeth St intersection.

Teachers at the march described the pay offer as “unfair”, “appalling”, a “pay cut” and “the worst pay offer in a generation”.

Mount Maunganui College teacher Sam Oldham said he believed about 500 teachers were striking.

“We’re out here because we’ve been given one of the worst pay offers in a generation, and if we want to have a high-quality education system and public schools that are successful and effective, we need a teaching workforce that’s well paid and well respected and well-resourced to do that,” he said.

“And we can’t do that with the Government’s latest pay offer.”

Sam Oldman at the Western Bay of Plenty PPTA strike in Tauranga. Photo / Ayla Yeoman

Oldham said the Government had been “completely unreasonable” with its offer of a 1% increase per year for three years.

“We can’t work with that.”

Oldham said a more appropriate offer would be 4% each year for three years.

Oldham said large numbers of teachers were leaving to teach in Australia, where they could get paid tens of thousands of dollars more, often with cheaper costs of living.

The Western Bay of Plenty Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) strike against the 1% pay rise offer from the Government. Photo / Ayla Yeoman

“We want to be competitive with Australia and other jobs in New Zealand.”

Oldham said he wanted to stay in New Zealand because he loved living here and his family and children were here.

“I grew up here and I don’t want to have to leave my country in order to get a decent quality of living.

“I actually want to stay here and build a great public education system that my kids can go through.”

Oldham said the strike was also protesting the cancellation of 33 pay equity claims in controversial legislation passed by the Government under urgency in May.

Another Mount Maunganui College teacher, Lance Talstra, said he did not want to live in Australia. He was a Kiwi “born and bred”.

Lance Talstra at the Western Bay of Plenty PPTA strike in Tauranga. Photo / Ayla Yeoman

“The pay is not in line with inflation, so effectively it’s a pay cut.

“But, in addition to being a 1% pay rise, we’re also being asked to do a lot more in terms of new curriculum,” he said, referring to the recent announcement that NCEA would be abolished.

Talstra said the changes to the curriculum meant a significant amount of time investment for the same amount of pay, “which is clearly unfair”.

He said he would like an offer that lined up with inflation.

“There are a lot of people who are doing it tough at the moment. I’d like to be doing better myself.”

Members of the Post Primary Teachers’ Association marched from Red Square in Tauranga’s city centre. Photo / Ayla Yeoman

Another striker, who did not want to be named, said they were striking for investing in teachers for a better education system that would benefit the students.

“I’m here for the students because, my working conditions, that’s what they have to learn in,” they said.

“It affects their ability to learn.”

The march ended at a picket line at the Cameron Rd and Elizabeth St intersection. Photo / Ayla Yeoman

Labour MP Jan Tinetti, who is a former principal of Merivale School, attended the protest and said the offer was “absolutely appalling”.

She said she took leave from parliament today to join the strike because she felt so strongly about the importance of the teachers.

Labour MP Jan Tinetti at the Western Bay of Plenty PPTA strike in Tauranga. Photo / Ayla Yeoman

“Our teachers are under a lot of stress at the moment. They are the people who impact on our future like no other profession does.

“They are the key to our future.”

Education Minister Erica Stanford asked the PPTA in an announcement yesterday to return to the table in good faith.

“You can’t negotiate when you’re sitting at the table by yourself, and that’s what we’ve found over the last little while.”

She said the government and the union had just had another round of negotiations, and they had recently seen some “good faith moves” from the PPTA, but would not go into further detail.

“All I can say is there have been some more good faith moves on behalf of the PPTA, which is really good to see.”