Teachers Criticise proposals

Press, 13 August 1980, Page 6

Teachers Criticise proposals

Canterbury primary school teachers yesterday condemned the Government’s proposals contained in the amendment to the State Services Conditions of Employment Act, now before Parliament.

A record turnout of 400 at a meeting of the North Canterbury branch of the Educational Institute agreed that if the amendment became law, “serious consideration to further action” should be made by the national executive. The amendment denied the right of teacher organisations to negotiate hours of work, and singled out teachers as a specific group of State servants to be affected by the proposed amendment, said the branch president, Mr N. Anderson. The amendment had serious implications for the future conditions of employment for teachers, and was retrospective in its proposed intention, he said.

The teachers’ opposition to the amendment would be made known to the Minister of State Services (Mr Thomson), the Minister of Education (Mr Wellington) the Labour spokesmen on education and labour, and the national executive of the institute.

At yesterday afternoon’s meeting, held at the Heaton Intermediate School, the teachers were told of the nature and consequences of the amendment.

The meeting was addressed by the executive officer of . the institute (Mr G. Prangnell) and local representatives of the Kindergarten Teachers’ Association, the Technical Institute Teachers’ Association,* and the PostPrimary Teachers’ Association.