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Headline: Primary teachers and principals strike for first time since 1994

In total 1175 comments were made and 28332 votes were cast. So what is the crowd saying?

Crowd favourite

94% of people agree. Why was the government so quick to hand out free tertiary education, funds for the pacific, regional fund, overseas embassies, horse racing bribes, etc etc... when there are more important things to spend the money on? They talk of the mess left behind yet the first thing they do is pay the bribes. Nothings been done to help homelessness or child poverty yet those were the most important things to Jacinda they prior to the election.

Comment TotalPositiveNegativeName

August 2017,

Questioned directly by moderator Mike Hosking on whether New Zealand could be in for national strikes, Ardern had her most emphatic moment: No. We. Will. Not.. Its not going to happen on my watch.

Tell her shes Dreamin.

17120029MickMunroe
If only she hadnt thrown away millions at tertiary students buying their votes with free education, she may have some money to pay for important things like this. 15517924AnilSingh
Teachers Unions should really ask themselves why their beloved Labour gave free hand outs to Uni students rather than looking after them!  Clueless!13417137The_TruthHurts
Why was the government so quick to hand out free tertiary education, funds for the pacific, regional fund, overseas embassies, horse racing bribes, etc etc... when there are more important things to spend the money on? They talk of the mess left behind yet the first thing they do is pay the bribes. Nothings been done to help homelessness or child poverty yet those were the most important things to Jacinda they prior to the election. 1281368fireydemon
Close down Taranaki and she meets greenpeace on the steps, ban the bag and shes out on the steps again, have a baby and its held up to the cameras.......1st teachers strike in 30 years (not on my watch) and she hides in the Wairarapa for the day. 11314330Sootie
Didnt you know its the schools job now to teach life skills... Parents dont teach their kids ANYTHING these days.

9411521BudBud
Im not sure why everybodys trying to get everything at the same time. Pay rises dont just come from nowhere9212028Oakansheild
Yes, the poor parenting is done by the same parents who think they know everything about teaching and complain the loudest.911009ikie
So apparently the govt has found $300 million to give ngapuhi for  treaty settlements (a joke in themselves) but dont have the money to give the education system desperately needed funds and teachers a pay rise.  Their priorities are totally out of whack.  Sort core services - teachers, nurses, police etc.     8910819mdp1
Sorry, but even if the teachers gain X% pay increase, the same issues will still exist. Chucking more money will not solve the deeper issues, which I suspect is why teaching is no longer valued as a profession to enter anymore:

- Teachers are no longer seen as authority figures. Not authority in a dictatorial fashion, but as someone of respect.
- Teachers are no longer teachers. Society expects them to be counsellors, nurses, social workers, and even parents. All of this takes time away from what they are actually paid to do - teach.
- Further to my second point, teachers are expected to clean up the mess that parental neglect created, yet neglectful parents will be the first to cast the first stone if it is their child/ren failing.
- The dearth of male teachers, thanks to the legacy of Peter Ellis, now largely due to mass hysteria brought on by the MeToo movement, particularly those that have hijacked it for grinding their axe.
- Furthermore, the teacher who lost his teaching career due solely to allegations proven fallacious in a court of law, yet will never be reinstated despite maintaining total innocence, while his two female perpetrators suffer no consequences.

I could go on, but will keep to the above four points. In any case, it all highlights the point that teaching used to be a profession held in high regard and esteem. Now it is seen as anything but. And no amount of monetary increase will change that.
88957RBS
I would hate to be on the bargaining table for the Ministry. Jacinda has undermined their position all in the space of a few days. The problem you have, Labour bribed people for their votes and failed to consider the consequences of neglecting other parties. This is the end result8710518CharlesParker
So if they are Actually, we continue to negotiate in good faith. We never left the table why are they striking? Surely good faith would dictate that you continue to negotiate until you can see it is going nowhere - then strike not after the first offer
809818hurrilander
Why Cant the Govt. Take some money from he 1 Billion regional slush fund they gave to NZ First to get into Power?789315OFC
True they were willing to give our hard earned tax money away to strangers and to causes such as the racing industry that only encourages gambling.You are correct it is election bribes.77836Westy Leopard
Having watched the video of Arderns speech im gobsmacked that someone so naive could be our leader. Does she even know what bargaining leverage is? Shes just elevated the teachers pay expectations massively, I wonder what the Ministry negotiators think? She did the same thing with the nurses we she extolled their virtues having just had a baby - classic case of confusing your own needs with whats good for the country. Then again maybe shes fully prepared to meet their demands having sold her soul to the unions when they fronted up with envelopes of cash for the Labour election campaign....758712HandUp
And teachers are not all at the same level either.748713Fluff Fluff
Well this is what happens when you raised such high expectations during the election campaign. It shouldnt come as a surprise. Every sector wants a piece of the pie. 74828pat1301
Typical Jacinda - she just wanted to have more conversations.

She is all stardust and no substance. How much will she be borrowing to fund these salary increases?
729018Gonzo, Esq.
wheels are starting to fall off as we edge closer to the fiscal hole lol72819I smell a rat

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