Secondary school teachers set for full day strike next week

Wednesday, 13 August 2025

Minister Judith Collins and Associate Minister Erica Stanford criticise the PPTA’s decision to strike after six days of talks, saying it is unfair to parents and students facing exam disruption and accuse the union of disingenuous bargaining.

Secondary teachers will go on strike next Wednesday for the whole day as collective agreement negotiations with the Government stall.

The PPTA says the Government’s offer is “the lowest in a generation”.

But the Government says its offer is “fair”, and the education minister said the decision to strike was a “political stunt”.

Secondary school teachers are set to strike next Wednesday in response to the Government’s offer to settle their collective agreement negotiations.

In a statement, the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) said the decision to strike for an entire day was “not taken lightly” but was endorsed “overwhelmingly” by members in a recent ballot.

“The Government’s offer of a 1% pay increase is the lowest in a generation and comes at the same time as teachers face the biggest changes to secondary education in a generation,” president of the PPTA Chris Abercrombie said.

Judith Collins and Erica Stanford respond to the news of strike action by secondary school teachers.

PPTA members also endorsed rostering students home, and not teaching specific year levels on specific days in the week beginning September 15, if there is insufficient progress in negotiations.

The Government says its offer was a “fair” one, on top of “significant” pay advances over the last three years. It urged the PPTA to come back to the negotiating table.

Minister for the Public Service Judith Collins said in a Wednesday afternoon press conference the Government was disappointed in the decision to strike.

Collins said there had been “no genuine engagement” by the PPTA in the bargaining process, and that the strike was a “political stunt”.

“[Parents] do not want their children's education disrupted once again,” she said.

Minister of Education Erica Stanford echoed Collins’ comments, saying the strike was “deeply unfair” for both students and parents.

Education Minister Erica Stanford tells Samantha Hayes the new A–D grading system will help set students up for success and bring needed clarity to NCEA.

“Parents expect their children to be at school. They don’t expect their children to be used as bargaining chips,” she said, while calling on the union to cancel the strike.

Abercrombie said on Wednesday teachers would “much prefer” to have received a “satisfactory offer” from the Government than go on strike.

“In a time of relentless and momentous change to secondary education we need to be able to attract graduates and others to the profession and keep highly skilled and experienced teachers in the classroom,” he said.

“Being able to retain experienced teachers is crucial for successful implementation of the Government’s proposed NCEA reforms.

“We are also witnessing increasing numbers of young people struggling with more complex needs such as mental health, emotional and societal issues that are not being met. Yet our claim for more pastoral care time and funding was completely ignored in the Government’s offer.”

Abercrombie also listed a series of things that he says the Government failed to address in their latest offer.

They included the need for greater recognition of curriculum leaders, the need for more subject specialist advisers, and the need for teacher-led professional learning and development funding.

Public Service Commissioner Brian Roche.

He added that the fact that teachers were willing to give up a day’s pay to strike showed how much they care about public education.

“The Government needs to stop funnelling hundreds of millions of dollars into charter schools, for which clearly there is no appetite, and put it where it needs to be – in public education.”

Abercrombie also sent a plea to parents to support teachers as they go on strike, asking them to “stand with us”.

“Parents know what our work involves, they know we care about our students and the education they receive. Every student needs specialist teachers in every subject and every student deserves to have their pastoral needs met. We ask parents to stand with us as we strive for a better deal for all students,” he said.

In response to the news of the planned strike, Public Service Commissioner Brian Roche urged the PPTA to return to the table.

“The offer the union has rejected represented a 3% increase over three years, on top of annual pay progression of between 4.5% and 7.5%,” Roche said.

“For many secondary teachers, this equates to pay increases between $2500 and $7000 a year, with regular annual progression included. Over three years it means increases of $1850 to $3123 for most teachers, in addition to $10,000 to $17,000 with annual pay progression.

Roche said the Government’s offer was a “fair” one, on top of what he called “significant” pay advances over the last three years.

“This is not the time for grandstanding or escalation – it’s a time for constructive dialogue,” he said.

“Everyone wants better outcomes for teachers, but we also have to live within our means – we don’t have a bottomless pot of taxpayers’ money.”