Introduction

Under the Education and Training Act 2020 (the Act), unions are currently required to provide 3 calendar days’ notice of a strike to school boards and to the Secretary for Education. The School Strike Notification proposal explores options for providing a longer notification period for school strikes. The proposal is not intended to alter the right to strike.

Three calendar days’ notice is often not enough time for schools, parents, caregivers and whānau to prepare alternative arrangements. This can be particularly problematic if the notice is given on a Friday or Saturday and the strike starts early in the following week.

The Ministry of Education has received complaints from school boards who say the 3 calendar days doesn’t leave enough time for their schools to plan so that the school can remain open for instruction or to provide for the supervision of its students. We have also received complaints about the impact of strikes on parents, caregivers and whānau who are suddenly required to arrange childcare, and on students who lose valuable days of learning. Depending on the timing, this could potentially affect students’ level of success for NCEA or other qualifications.

A longer strike notice period will continue to preserve teachers’ and principals’ right to strike, while also providing schools with more time to review their staffing and potentially make arrangement to stay open, and whānau, parents, and caregivers with more time to make alternative arrangements if the school has to close.

Extending the notification period for school strikes to more than 3 calendar days

The Government is exploring the option to extend the notice period unions must give for a school strike from 3 calendar days to either:

• no less than 3 working days,
• no less than 7 calendar days, or
• retaining the status quo.

Extending the notice period would provide more time for schools and parents to make alternative arrangements while still preserving teachers' and principals' right to strike.

The Education and Training Act 2020 would need to be amended to extend the notice period for strikes to either no less than 3 working days or no less than seven calendar days. We are seeking your feedback on the options described above.

Have your say

You can submit your feedback on the proposals outlined in the consultation document by:

• filling out the consultation survey through the link at the top or bottom of this page
• emailing your feedback to [email protected].

You can also write to us at:

Education Consultation
Ministry of Education
PO Box 1666
Wellington 1640
New Zealand

Next steps

We are asking for your views on the suggested changes discussed above to help us make better informed decisions about the strike notification timeframes. After consultation is finished, the Ministry of Education will collect and analyse your feedback. 

Be assured that any feedback you provide will be confidential to those involved in analysing the consultation data. We will not identify any individuals in the final analysis or report writing unless you expressly give permission for this. However, submissions, including submitter’s name, and documents associated with the consultation process, may be subject to an Official Information Act 1982 request.

You can find more information about the Official Information Act.

Making an official information request 

If you have any more questions, wish to request a copy of your personal information, wish to correct your personal information, or withdraw your submission you can do so by emailing [email protected].