Teachers unhappy with settlement

Press, 15 June 1978, Page 6

Teachers unhappy with settlement

Two Christchurch teachers have said they will resign from teaching posts, and others have threatened to withdraw from the Post-Primary Teachers’ Association. because of the settlement of their pay dispute.

The Canterbury regional chairman of the P.P.T.A. (Mr W. M. Cook) said that many persons. branches. and regions had expressed their; dissatisfaction with the He said he knew of; teachers who had waited for the outcome of the dispute before deciding whethert they would remain in teach-1 The PPT.A. on Tuesday accepted a settlement which! will affect about 90 per cent| of al) secondary school j teachers. It will cost the ; Government an extra $1 5M| to J2M a year. The settlement provides | for the translation to the ■ graduate salary scale of those! non-graduate teachers who; were in the secondary ser-| vice before the introduction of the new secondary salary! tale on February I. 1971. j The translations will take 1 effect from July I. Other measures include adjustments to the rates of, allowances for al) holders of' positions of responsibility and for senior administrative staff in small secondary schools from July 1. Adjustments will also be

made at that time to some steps at the start of the basic •scale and improvements to • sick leave entitlements for teachers who teach for more than 12| hours a week. Adjustments will also be made to the salaries of some technical teachers and provision will be made for teachers to improve their qualifications. The settlement was described by the chairman of the Darneld branch of the P.P.T.A. (Mr K. Chamberlain) as unsatisfactory. ' He said the settlement ' neither recognised the justiI fication for a significant , salary increase nor the un- ' animous directive of the , special national conference to stand fast and insist on a’ ; full settlement. A meeting will be held: i today at 4 p.m. at the) Teachers’ College town site) ifor executive memt.-s and: all branch delegates. Mr • Cook said the meeting would try to inform delegates of , ; the “fine print" of the aettle-1 ment. “Many questions have got! to be answered, and the branches have not got the| answers yet,” he said. He ex-

■ pected there would be “many : l Irate words” about the ex-: > 1 ecutive at the meeting. ■ The reaction of Western > ; Bay of Plenty secondary teachers to the settlement of » their salary claims ranged ! from “seething with indig- ■ nation" to with • them.” At Otumoetai College, with anger and disappointment being voiced by f P.P.T.A. members, a branch ; meeting decided to send a ■ strongly worded telegram to the P.P.T.A. president and : the Minister of Education. Members of the Otumoetai : College branch of the P.P.T.A. were amazed that the i acceptance of the wage i packet offered by Governijmen. was being regarded as a “settlement” of their proI • traded salary claims, said ilthe branch chairman (Mr B. ijDucker). I: “The present ‘package’ ■ will have such limited effect I on these vital matters that ’ the teachers are incensed at Its ready acceptance by their • national executive, despite a • clear mandate at the confer- ■ • ence in May to press for full i • implementation of their claims.” he said.