Media Release

5 November, 2010  

Negotiations to resume next week  

PPTA and the Ministry of Education will be back at the bargaining table on Monday, with both parties understanding this is last opportunity of to reach a settlement that can be ratified this year.

Last night PPTA’s executive agreed unanimously that Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement bargaining should resume on Monday November 8.

They also voted unanimously that, for now, next Thursday’s restoring home should stay in place.

President Kate Gainsford said the executive believed it would give more certainty and stability in parent communities to leave existing plans in place for Thursday.

“The option of calling off the action and then calling it back on if progress was less than satisfactory and deemed unnecessarily disruptive,” she said.

Gainsford said executive had made the decision to resume negotiations because informal discussions with the ministry this week had indicated progress on three test items PPTA had identified as pivotal to reaching an agreement.

“Whatever is achieved at the table next week will give clarity about the way forward – either we will be running a ratification ballot or we will be consulting about what further industrial actions members are prepared to take next year,” she said.

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