Latest industrial action by teachers highlights problems for Labour
Secondary teachers may strike after ‘insulting’ pay offer
Members of the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) will vote on industrial action next month, after rejecting the offer as “insulting”.Delegates at the union’s conference in Wellington said secondary teachers were determined to win a better pay rise and were ready to strike if they had to.
They said the government’s offer, which would have increased most teachers’ pay by three percent a year for three years, was inadequate.
The union’s decision raises the possibility of a double-whammy of strike action with the primary teachers union, the Educational Institute.
The problem Labour face with the wave of industrial actions is partly due to the pent up anger of workers who have been subject to a decade of underfunding because of National, and partly due to the cowardice of Union leaders who did sweet bugger all to challenge Key.
This militancy when Labour are in power and cowardice when National are in is deeply detrimental to industrial relations and progressive politics because it feeds into a National Party narrative that Unions feel emboldened by Jacinda being in power.
Unions can’t just selectively stand for their members rights, they need to push against every hue of Government when they impose policy that is detrimental to the conditions of their members, because if they only find courage when Labour are in power, it allows the political Right to damage everything while the political Left have to do all the repairing.
Chippy telling teachers their shit pay and the even worse insulting offer is all that can be afforded is plain retarded.
He should know they cannot get teachers now but he’s oblivious.
He should know that what makes teaching incrementally worse every day is bigger class/student ratios.
He should know that will only exacerbate the problems of teacher shortages as they throw the towel in but he can’t see that. He is that thick.
That arrogant little shit can’t even count, so he should look at himself as living proof that the problems in education run deep.
Then offering OT social workers a 30% pay rise right when teachers, police and others are in talks for better wages and conditions after a decade of neglect and where they are getting woefully poor offers is another sign of the strategic vacuum inflicting the government.
Does anyone have a strategy in Labour or does anything go?
Mean while foreign business interests are celebrating offshoring all the jobs. Freaking tacticool checkers and all that.