Trainees join talks

Press, 15 March 1980, Page 6

Trainees join talks

Trainee teachers have decided in a national ballot to participate in talks with the Government about its new proposal for training allowances.

When the trainees first heard of the proposal, which would replace their allowances with a bursary, they were so angry that they felt it was useless to discuss anything with the Minister of Education (Mr Wellington).

The general secretary of the Teacher Trainee Association (Mr R. Jones) was in Christchurch earlier this week to discuss the situation with trainees at the Christ-! church Teachers’ College. He also asked to speak to the Teachers’ College Council about the matter, but he was refused permission because the council would be, represented by the Associ-i ation of Teachers’ College 1

Councils at the talks with Mr Wellington on March 25.

Mr Jones said that teacher trainees had the restrictions but few of the privileges of State servants. A teacher trainee allowance was not recognised or protected as a State salary, even though it had been widely understood that it would be, since 1969, when the State Services Conditions of Employment Act was redraughted.

Because trainee allowances were not recognised, trainees had no negotiating powers, land they had to accept what payment the Government decided to make, Mr Jones said. Trainees had their allowances docked if they missed a day of college, and they had also missed out on the cost-of-living increase which State servants received last year. Mr Jones said that teacher .trainees should be accepted ias part of the teaching service and given the same

i rights as teachers, conIcerning their pay.

j Teacher trainees were angry because they had participated in two reports commissioned by the Government, and both had been ignored by Mr Wellington.

The Government was. now “dangling carrots in front of the donkey” by reducing allowances and then offering additional money to trainees who would be prepared to work in unpopular parts of the country or to teach an unpopular subject. Also, trainees would be bonded dollar-for-dollar, for a longer time,, probably four years instead of three.

Mr ‘Jones said* thatf the Government was “cheating” trainees into taking courses and bonds they did not want because they could - not afford to do otherwise.

The teaching profession would suffer ultimately because people would be uni happy in it and unsuited to it, said Mr Jones.