Teachers’ pay dispute may hit third forms

Press, 26 February 1986, Page 1

Teachers’ pay dispute may hit third forms

By

ASHLEY CAMPBELL,

education reporter

Third-form pupils throughout New Zealand may not be taught if the PostPrimary Teachers’ Association pay dispute escalates.

During their one-day strike yesterday secondary teachers voted on proposals for continuing industrial action.

One of the proposals was for rolling stoppages, closing one-quarter of State and integrated secondary schools each Tuesday. This option was approved by 80 per cent of the 900 teachers who attended the Canterbury regional meeting. Teachers in the Aorangi region (South Canterbury) also supported this move. A plan for special action of increasing severity was also voted on. The most extreme option in this package would mean that . teachers would refuse to teach thirdformers until their dispute was settled. These votes were to be counted after the meeting. Regional results will not be released. Results from the regional meetings will be discussed at a P.P.T.A. executive meeting at the week-end. The association’s national president, Mr Peter Allen, said it would then be decided what action to take.

During the Canterbury meeting at the Christ-

church Town Hall, the regional spokesman, Ms Theresa Shaughnessy, asked teachers not to take matters into their own hands, but to wait for the national campaign. “There is to be no picketing, particularly of Royal tours, children’s playgrounds, or the Prime Minister,” she said. The meeting also discussed the possibility of taking the claim to the Government Service Tribunal. This motion was lost.

“It seems to be generally felt in Canterbury that that is not an option to be taken immediately.” The meeting also resolved to ask the national executive to , seek legal

advice on the position of striking teachers. Ms Shaughnessy said this did not mean teachers were unsure about taking further action.

Teachers were also worried that the public did not understand the amount of extra-curricu-lar work they did. They voted in favour of a work-to-rule in order to emphasise this. “People do not realise that teachers do not get overtime,” Ms Shaughnessy said. "They do take sports teams, and ferry kids to sports meetings. In the evening they attend Parent-Teacher Association report meetings, and all those sorts of things.” Further reports, page 8