Strike Action – Thursday 16th March – School will be closed.

Kia ora Whānau,

By now you may have seen on the news that teachers have overwhelmingly voted to strike. 

The strike will take place on the 16th of March and as a result, we will not be open on this day. 

The Details:

Our tamariki need a quality education. And educators want to give that to them.

You may be aware that teachers and principals are currently in negotiations around their respective collective employment agreements. Regrettably, these negotiations are not going well with the Government refusing to address the inadequate staffing and resourcing of primary schools, particularly when compared to the staffing and resourcing provided to secondary schools. For a school our size, if we were staffed at the same levels as a secondary school, we would have seven or eight additional full-time teachers. This single additional resource would completely change – for the better – how we could meet the needs of our students, your children. The Government has also refused to acknowledge the increased cost of living and has asked teachers and principals to take a pay cut in real terms.

Teachers and Principals across Aotearoa have not made this decision lightly. Principals and teachers in primary and area schools and kindergartens have considered at length the government’s offers to settle their collective agreements. The offers did not meet expectations, nor make sufficient steps towards the necessary changes for our children to succeed. As a result, they have chosen to join their Secondary PPTA colleagues in industrial action. 

It is the last thing educators wanted to do, especially in light of disruptions over recent times, but they have felt that this was the only way the government would listen and recognise that when they support our children to learn and succeed, we are supporting whānau and communities to thrive. 

We look forward to another great year in 2023 – together with your support, building the case for better investment in our tamariki. 

It is now time to put pressure on the Government to value our profession and the work we do. If you would like to help you could e-mail our local MP, Shanon Halbert, his e-mail address is

shanan.halbert@parliament.govt.nz and express your support.