Secondary School Teacher Strikes Continue

Secondary school teacher strikes continue this week.

Eastern Bay secondary school teachers are taking part in nationwide strike action this week after pay negotiations continue to stall.

Year 12 and 13 students were asked to remain home on Monday as part of the rolling strikes. Year 11 students will be affected on Tuesday, Year 10 on Wednesday and Year 9 on Thursday, with schools saying normal classes will resume by the end of the week.

Exam schedules will not be affected by the strikes and will continue as planned.

Post Primary Teacher Association Regional Chair Kim Wilson says the strike action is also very disruptive for teachers as well as students.

"We just actually want to be getting on with what we need to get on with. We don't want to be taking industrial action. Sometimes it's the only way to get the government to actually listen and attend to our concerns."

Wilson says the current offer doesn't address the majority of their collective agreement claims. The union are seeking pay increases of 4 percent a year for the next three years, as well as an additional 4 percent in the first year in response to the scrapping of the secondary teacher's pay equity claim. Better pastoral care and conditions are also being called for.

Wilson says it's about attracting people to the profession and keeping them there.

She says she's always been a union member and has been involved in other strike actions since being in teaching.

"Industrial action pretty much always results in improved results for us." When asked if she was hopeful in what that meant for the current impasse with the government Wilson replied, "We'll see." "This government seems fairly entrenched to their position as well."