Strike could close schools | Manawatu-Wanganui News | Local News in Manawatu-Wanganui

We've called off strikes before. We'll do it again if we see movement. PPTA president Kate GainsfordWanganui secondary school students are set for a bonus day off after teachers voted overwhelmingly to strike over a collapse in their pay negotiations with the Ministry of Education.

Teachers want a 4 per cent pay rise, while the ministry is offering 1.5 per cent.

The first nationwide day-long strike could take place within the next fortnight - September 15 is a mooted date - and further strikes could follow.

Cullinane College is all but resigned to closing the school during strike action.

Wanganui Girls' College is in a similar position but has the monitoring of boarders and foreign students to consider. The management will meet this week to consider its strategy.

Headmasters and deputy principals of Wanganui Collegiate, City College, Wanganui High School and Nga Tawa could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Post Primary Teachers' Association president Kate Gainsford said the ministry had set the tone for negotiations by proposing a number of claw-backs.

Discussions around issues such as capping class sizes and free influenza immunisations for teachers had been shut down, she said.

"It's not just a problem about what teachers have got in their back pocket.

"There is a whole range of claims in our package, and none of them have been addressed - none of them have been thought about, none of them have been responded to properly," Ms Gainsford said.

Parents would support strike action because issues like class size were a community concern, she said.

The PPTA was still open to further negotiations.

"We've called off strikes before. We'll do it again if we see movement of the kind that we need to see," Ms Gainsford said.

"The Government needs to make some decisions, because they've put their negotiators in a tough place if they're not going to look at the envelope of what is being allowed to work with."

Education Minister Anne Tolley urged the PPTA to get back around the bargaining table.

"It (the strike action) is extremely disappointing and won't be welcomed by parents," she said.