Teachers play a vital role in our schools and kindergartens and the conditions for teachers are the conditions for our children’s learning. Around 30,000 principals and teachers from schools and kindergartens across Aotearoa will take industrial action on March 16th after voting to overwhelmingly reject offers from the Ministry of Education to settle their collective employment agreements. Industrial action is a last resort. However, teachers are being driven from the profession or working in circumstances that mean they cannot deliver the high-quality education to our tamariki they would like to. What are the key issues? -Improved support for tamariki  -More staff to support learning  -Better recognition for the work primary teachers and principals do  -Value and respect for our kindergarten teachers Thanks for showing your support By signing this message to Minister for Education Jan Tinetti, and local MPs around the country, you are showing your support for the teaching profession, and for the best possible learning environment for our tamariki. Thank you for your support.

Area school / wharekura teachers do the same work as their colleagues in primary schools but while primary school teachers have a collective agreement offer, area school teachers are still waiting.

The Fair Pay Agreement legislation means minimum pay standards can be negotiated and agreed for a whole sector or industry. We will be using it to legally embed pay parity and better working conditions for ECE kaiako, and to seek a living wage for all other ECE staff. In bargaining, we will raise issues important to the ECE sector. We’ll take a lead from the sector on this, but this is likely to mean taking a stand on pay parity, non-contact time, ratios, professional development, and health and safety. This is our shot to get them all fixed.

Teachers, schools and whānau continue to benefit from the work of RTLBs. Despite the challenging nature of the work, 78 percent of respondents to the National RTLB Satisfaction Survey indicate that they are satisfied or very satisfied with the work done by RTLBs to support learners. It’s important that these inequities are addressed by the Government in the current round of collective agreement negotiations with the Ministry of Education. Sign your name and support RTLBs in Aotearoa so they can continue to provide essential learning support to children, whānau, staff and schools, and ensure all tamariki experience success.

Parents, whānau and NZEI Te Riu Roa members are deeply concerned about the underfunding in our education system where tamariki are missing out on accessing the support they need and where parents are forced to pay for teacher aide hours out of their own pockets. No parent should need to choose between breaking the law or watching their child miss out on the support they need. Parents should not have to pay at all. In a properly funded public system, every child should get the support they need. All tamariki are taonga. This campaign is about challenging ableism at all levels, so that the education system works for all. We've drafted an email for you (on the right) to send to Minister Hipkins. Personalise it with your own story for the Minister to read.