Teacher strikes are over for now, but there are calls for the negotiation process to be improved to reduce disruption to students and their families.
One Tree Hill College teacher Kieran Gainsford was part of the negotiating team for the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) and said strikes were disruptive for students and teachers.
“We really didn't want to be doing it and we're really grateful now that we can get back to focusing on teaching and learning in our classrooms.”
The independent arbitration panel broke the gridlock between the Ministry of Education and the PPTA on collective agreement negotiations with a recommendation for 14.5% pay rises by next December, which was then accepted by the Government and offered to teachers who accepted the pay rise.
The reviewers also recommended improving how both parties prepared for the next round of negotiations, to reduce the chance of industrial action.
High school students missed six to seven days of school this year due to industrial action.
One suggestion was to establish a committee made up of both parties with an independent chairperson to progress talks, with issues not resolved in the latest negotiations at the top of the list for discussion.
"We regard the establishment of such a body as a matter that should be given the highest priority by the parties and that the impending general election does not provide any impediment to the parties reaching agreement on what form that body should take," the report states.
Another suggestion is to establish an independent body to provide advice on appropriate pay and conditions.
“We're certainly not opposed to having independent views come in early, as long as those independent views are fair and take account of the challenges we have in schools, then absolutely, we'd be open to that,” PPTA member Kieran Gainsford said.
Education Minister Jan Tinetti supports the Ministry of Education and secondary teachers progressing work on the recommendations.
“We absolutely will be looking to overseas examples as well but what we've got to make certain is that we're creating something that works for us here in Aotearoa, New Zealand,” she said.
Massey University employment relations academic Andrew Barney says an independent group providing evidence-based advice would be helpful for improving relations between both parties as trust has been eroded in recent times.
“It means that both sides can have confidence that an independent group are making decisions, it's not the outcome of some kind of political argy bargy,” he said.
Both the independent arbitration panel and Barney discussed the School Teachers' Review Body, which is an independent group that advises the UK government on what pay rises teachers in England should receive.
Factors considered include the economy, teacher workforce numbers and evidence from the Department for Education and teachers' unions.
Last month, teachers in England were awarded 6.5% pay rises with the UK Government accepting all recommendations by the School Teachers' Review Body. Several unions called off strike action as a result.
Barney said the approach needs careful consideration but could help with setting pay rates across the public sector.
"It's likely to earn its way fairly quickly if we can reduce the amount of strike activity that we're seeing in the sector," he said.
“If we can get bilateral agreement on this, I think that could be a really big step forward in what's become a very dispute prone industry.”
He says recent industrial action reflects the decades-long issue of smaller salaries for public sector roles compared to private roles, with the Government restricted on income streams.
"What it (Government) often does do is it trades off salary increases against terms and conditions..."
Barney said apart from pay, with underlying workload pressures in sectors like education, it would be difficult for an independent panel to address these issues.
"Where do we find the money to support nurses, where do we find the money to support teachers, where do we find the money to improve their terms and conditions?"
Despite the disruption, neither Prime Minister and Labour leader Chris Hipkins or National leader Christopher Luxon are keen on a shake up of the negotiation process.
“Ultimately the bargaining process still provides an opportunity for bargaining, for trade-offs,” Hipkins said.
“The issue for me is actually we've taken too long to get this issue resolved, we've had our kids out of schools for way too long," Luxon said.
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