#1203 ... We Protest

Our school teachers are protesting over the current state of their pay negotiations ... about 1000 secondary and intermediate school teachers marched on Parliament today, protesting stalled talks over pay and conditions, as Education Minister Anne Tolley urged them to return to the negotiating table.

Protesting teachers clutched placards and chanted "Quality education under attack, stand up, fight back". Marching teachers met at Parliament with the Wairarapa and Hutt Valley branches of the PPTA and staged an hour-long rally. Thousands of secondary and intermediate school teachers are striking to protest stalled pay negotiation talks as they seek a 4 per cent pay rise.

About 280,000 pupils, from more than 450 secondary and intermediate schools, were expected to be affected by the action as the 16,000 members of the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) union take the one-day strike action. Teachers gathered at Wellington High School before marching on Parliament at lunchtime. Other protest events will be held around the country. The one-day strike is the first in eight years for the PPTA.