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24 August Ākuhata 2018
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Eastbourne teachers join the call for more teachers, more pay and better conditions Local teachers joined thousands of others in a protest aimed at improving staffing levels, pay and workloads for teachers. Days Bay resident Krista Huber, team leader at Thorndon School, was one of many local teachers who took industrial action on August 15. Almost 1500 schools closed around the country, as 30,000 primary and intermediate teachers and principals attended scores of rallies, to take strike action for the first time since 1994. One hundred and sixty one of those schools were in Wellington, where thousands of striking teachers filed out of a briefing at Westpac Stadium, before a midday march to Parliament. Although not originally her intention, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern juggled her diary in order to meet the disgruntled educators when they arrived at Parliament. “She made a great speech,” Krista said, “not us and them, just us. Chris Hipkins [Minister of Education] said that the select committee were finishing off legislation to end national standards and charter schools. " The rain stayed away and the strike mood was positive.” Among the demands made by the primary
Local intermediate teachers, Annette McRae and Krista Huber (right) joined 4,000 colleagues from the Wellington region in a parliamentary protest last week.
school teachers union, NZEI Te Riu Roa, is the implementation of a 16 percent pay rise over three years and more non-contact time to tackle paperwork. Other issues concerning maternity leave, the number of special needs co-ordinators and incentives to attract new teachers are also on the wider agenda. Bec Power, principal at Muritai, the biggest school in Eastbourne, said that 100 percent of the regular classroom teachers were on strike
and all, including herself, attended the rally at Parliament. “Of our teachers and relievers,” she said, “including those working part-time, we have 18 teachers and 12 support staff who live in the Eastern Bays.” Both the principal and the one other teacher at San Antonio took part in the strike, which closed the school. Wellesley College remained open, with no teachers striking.