Primary school teachers and principals have voted to reject the Ministry of Education's latest pay offer, the third that has been offered to them.
Primary teachers union NZEI Te Riu Roa President Lynda Stuart said the most recent offer did not do enough to address the problems faced by teachers in the classroom.
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"From the beginning of this process we've been clear that to attract and retain teachers we need to be paid fairly and have the time and support to ensure every child gets the best possible education," she said in a statement.
"While the latest offer for teachers included a total salary increase of approximately $9500 - $11,000 over three years, it failed to address the important issues of time and class size, which underpin the crisis in education."
Ministry of Education secretary of education Iona Holsted said the Government was working to address concerns about the workload.
The measures include:
- An extra $500 million for learning support
- $40 million to boost teacher supply in the short to medium term
- Developing a long-term education workforce strategy
- Working with a joint workforce to identified administrative tasks that can be reduced in favour of more time to teach
- Rolling out a programme for education professionals' wellbeing
"We remain committed to continuing bargaining in good faith and minimising any further disruption for students' learning and parents remains a priority. It is only by negotiation we will settle this long-running dispute," Ms Holstead said.
Minister for Education Chris Hipkins said the Government had anticipated the ballot results.
"The Government is committed to settling this dispute. I encourage NZEI to come back to the bargaining table to negotiate how they want to reconfigure the offer," he said.
Newshub.