About
I have set up this Blog to provide a forum examining the PPTA (Post Primary Teachers Association) and its relevance and effectiveness as an advocacy service for the bulk of its members in the todays “modern” schools. Most teachers consider their membership as an insurance policy should they ever find themselves in conflict. But from the feedback I have received this is giving a false sense of security and the PPTA often only offers one solution the “exit Package”. Regardless of whether this is the members wish or not. They seem unwilling to enter into any battle that would benefit teachers as a whole and are quite happy to fight individual fires as they occur without the benefit of precedents.
In this the PPTA could be seen as condoning workplace bullying of teachers by the senior management or BOT’s in schools. It could be that the organisation has become so conflicted in having Principals, their deputies and assistants as members that they are no longer able to identify who they represent in times of disagreement. Senior manager in schools have choices of the PPTA and SPANZ (many are members of both) and both parties are signatories to their collective agreement.
I know of no other union that represents in this way both the employers representatives and the staff. It is clear that teachers are subsidising their management and from the unions inaction and unwillingness to challenge such issues of senior bullying of subordinates there is not enough left in the pot to support the bulk of the members in their time of need.
The bulk of the membership is classroom teachers and this is the source of the most of the PPTA’s income (in the vicinity of NZ$9,000,000 per year).
In this blog I will be publishing excerpts from member experiences, comments and the results of investigations undertaken by myself and other. Please keep all comment relevant and let’s see we go.
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October 27, 2012@ 12:20 pm
I would like to discuss with PPTA teacher members if they are on fixed term contracts and what reasons were given for their employment to be on that basis
October 28, 2012@ 2:13 pm
I think you will find that the reason most jobs are fixed term is because of the uncertainty around government and ministry policy on teacher ratios. Its Cheaper than CAPNA.