17 February 2023

Collective Agreements for Teachers and principals are currently being negotiated.  The NZEI have provided this message to schools to share with our communities about upcoming Paid Union Meetings (PUMs).

Whakamana tamariki, whakamana kaiako 

We all want the best for our kids.   

Our teachers love what they do, but not enough funding for schools means that they don’t have the time they would like to support all kids to thrive.   

We can fix this though. NZEI Te Riu Roa primary teacher and principal members are making the case to Government for the best investment in tamariki. Smaller class sizes, more time for individual students and more specialist learning support staffing would make a huge difference. 

Keeping and retaining teachers is top of mind right now, and this term, our teachers will also be meeting to consider a pay offer – and assessing if it’s enough to make sure that teaching is valued and is an attractive profession.

That is why myself and teachers at our school will be attending paid union meetings for principals on  Monday 20 February and for teachers on Wednesday 1 March.

When we support our children to learn and succeed, we are supporting whānau and communities to thrive. We look forward to another great year in 2023 – and together with your support building the case for better investment in our tamariki. 

Teachers who are members of the NZEI will attend PUMs on March 1, but the school will not be closed as we will have enough non-union staff and support staff to supervise tamariki.

We appreciate the ongoing support shown to teachers as we work to do our best for all of our tamariki at Te Kura o Tawatawa | Ridgway School.

Ngā mihi

Kathryn