The secondary teachers' union is putting the teacher shortage at the heart of its pay claim with the Education Ministry today.
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The Education Ministry and the Post Primary Teachers Association will start negotiating the secondary teachers' pay claim this afternoon.
President of the association, Jack Boyle, told Morning Report its members want a pay deal that will attract and retain more teachers.
"We've got a Prime Minister who says she wants New Zealand to be the best place to be a child and we believe that our solutions and the opportunity that exists through these collective talks right now, is a great opportunity for that to happen."
However he said the colour of government doesn't have any bearing on the claim.
"The reality is, there are 40 percent fewer teachers going into secondary education, of those who do, nearly half of them are gone in five years and around 20 percent of teachers are over 60, so anybody can see there's a problem that needs to be fixed."
Mr Boyle said similar problems were affecting primary school teachers, who are currently in mediation with the ministry over their pay claim.
He said there isn't a hierarchy of need and that the Prime Minister can do the right thing for all of education.
"We see this correction as an opportunity."
The union won't say what is in the claim until it is tabled.
However, it said it wanted a settlement that will attract more people to teaching and reduce workloads.
Meanwhile, the primary teachers' union, the Educational Institute, is in mediation with the ministry over stalled pay talks.
If they fail to reach an agreement, primary teachers will go on strike next week.