NZEI negotiator Liam Rutherford told RNZ members at the meetings indicated they were willing to take industrial action. Photo: RNZ / Tom Furley
The Educational Institute (NZEI/Te Riu Roa) will consider whether to ballot members on industrial action following two-weeks of stop-work meetings for primary teachers and principals.
NZEI held the last of the meetings, which also included school support staff and Ministry OF Education learning support staff, on Friday.
NZEI negotiator Liam Rutherford told RNZ members at the meetings indicated they were willing to take industrial action over their collective agreement negotiations.
He said the union's executive would this week consider holding ballots on that possibility.
"Industrial action has been a real active conversation across all of the meetings," he said. "There's definitely been support for industrial action."
Rutherford said the meetings also discussed campaigns to inform the public about the negotiations and NZEI members' concerns.
"The themes that have been coming out of the last 10 days is a pretty blunt message that educators want to feel valued for the work they do," he said.
Rutherford said he hoped the Ministry of Education would table a better offer and a ballot would not be necessary.
The ministry had previously offered teachers three 1 percent pay rises over three years.
NZEI member Megan Cooper worked in learning support at Newlands Intermediate. She said people at the meeting she attended were disappointed and angry about the government's collective agreement offers.
Cooper said for support staff it amounted to increases of 60 cents an hour in the first year, 15 cents the following year and 25 cents in the third. She said that was not enough to value the work of school support staff.
The Public Service Commission was overseeing this year's negotiations.
It said bargaining was ongoing.
Last month thousands of secondary school teachers belonging to the Post Primary Teachers Association held a one-day strike over their pay talks.
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