Papamoa College will be closed for instruction on Wednesday 29 May due to the industrial action to be taken by the NZEI (Primary Teachers' Union) and PPTA (Secondary Teachers' Union).

The joint action to be taken by both Primary and Secondary Teachers is unprecedented in New Zealand, and is in response to rejection of the current offer by the government at the bargaining table. The Primary and Secondary teachers do not believe that the current employment conditions (remuneration, support for the increasing demands of the job, time provided for administration, planning, marking etc) adequately reflect the reality of being an educator. There are also serious concerns around workload, and the difficulty for schools to find good teachers to employ, as well as the lack of young people entering the profession.

It is important to gain an understanding as to why teachers are taking industrial action. There have been various newspaper articles published in the BOP Times and NZ Herald, as well as television programmes/interviews. For example:

The Chalkface TVNZ Sunday aired Sunday 19 May https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/sunday

'Pay is not why we do it' - why the upcoming teachers strike's about more than just money.
1NewsNow - Wednesday 15 May
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/pay-not-why-we-do-upcoming-teachers-strikes-more-than-just-money

We appreciate that any industrial action has a significant effect on students being off school and parents having to arrange childcare, and thank you for your understanding.

There will be diverse views about the current issues regarding teachers and therefore I encourage you to be as informed as possible throughout this difficult time for everyone.

Regards

Steve Lindsey
Principal