Primary teachers win battle over union

Press, 26 December 1986, Page 16

Primary teachers win battle over union

PA Wellington Primary teachers have won a battle with their secondary colleagues over which teacher union Forms 1 and 2 manual teachers should belong to, throwing the future union status of about 600 teachers into doubt. The Minister of Education, Mr Marshall, has decided that woodwork, metalwork and home economics teachers who teach in intermediate schools, and manual centres for Forms 1 and 2 children, at present secondary-trained, should in future have primary training.

His decision comes after the two unions involved, the New Zealand Educational Institute and

the Post-Primary Teachers’ Association, were unable to reach agreement.

It also comes at a time when the N.Z.E.I. is running a campaign aimed at making sure that intermediate schools stay within the primary teaching service. It believes secondary teachers are mounting a “take-over bid” for Forms 1 and 2 classes, in the wake of falling school rolls. Traditionally all manual teachers, regardless of what level they teach at, have been secondarytrained. They have also been employed under the more generous secondary teacher salary scale and conditions of service.

However, the N.Z.E.I.

has long argued that they should be trained primary teachers, with additional specialist training.

The general secretary, Miss Helen Anderson, said this would allow them to teach other subjects, and to teach the “whole child" rather then being confined to a narrow subject area.

“They are specifically trained to deal with children aged 11 to 13,” Miss Anderson said.

It would also help solve a present shortage of intermediate manual teachers, who at present must have either an advanced trade certificate or a home science degree or equivalent before un-

dergoing teacher training.

However, the move has been condemned by the P.P.T.A. which is calling the teachers affected to stop-work meetings on December 16 to discuss future action.

The Post-Primary Teachers’ Association said the safety of students in metalwork, woodwork, home economics and clothing classes could be jeopardised by inexperienced staff after the decision of the Minister of Education.

The association’s president, Mr Peter Allen, said manual teachers were trained and qualified secondary teachers because of the specialist nature of their jobs.