Govt must negotiate with teachers in good faith

Government must negotiate with teachers in good faith

The Government needs to end its disruptive standoff with school teachers and return to the negotiating table with some meaningful offers, said the CTU today.

CTU President Helen Kelly said: “The Government’s approach so far to its negotiations with the PPTA has been guaranteed to produce the result which nobody wants – strike action. For teachers, as with all workers, this is the action of last resort and thousands of teachers are exasperated that the Government seems completely unwilling to discuss their claim seriously.”

“The Government has a bad attitude to teachers across the board. From devaluing training in early childhood education, disregarding the concerns of primary teachers over national standards, drastic reductions to tertiary and adult and community education budgets, and now in these negotiations – there is no level of education which the Government seems to support or treat with respect.”

“This Government has undermined its own credibility in the education sector and needs to start taking teachers’ claim seriously to avoid more disruption in schools.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media