Summarised by Centrist
Public Service Minister Judith Collins has accused teachers unions of turning a pay dispute into a political protest after the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) placed “Palestine” at the top of its meeting agenda with Education Minister Erica Stanford.
Collins said the move proved the strike was “politically motivated” and not about student learning, pay, or working conditions.
In an open letter, Collins urged parents to ask teachers why the strike was scheduled just before Labour Weekend and existing teacher-only days. She said the government had offered pay rises in line with inflation and accused the unions of refusing to negotiate in good faith.
President Chris Abercrombie argued Palestine was listed on the meeting agenda but said it was not a priority. “It just happened to be listed first. It doesn’t mean it was the most important,” he said.
Abercrombie “The reason we wanted to raise it is that we’re concerned about the educational policy outcomes of everyone. There’s 630,000 young people in the Gaza Strip that have not had education for a number of years and we just wanted to raise that,” said Abercrombie.
He said the union was ready to meet but the Education Ministry had set no bargaining dates until November. He said that the Minister’s office had requested collective bargaining not be discussed at that meeting, leaving other topics, including curriculum reform, artificial intelligence, and NCEA changes, on the agenda.
Read more at the Beehive and NewstalkZB
Image: Stephen Melkisethian
