Some primary school students and their teachers around New Zealand have dressed in green today for a "national day of support" for school principals' fight for better pay.
It comes after primary school teachers accepted a $1.5 billion pay offer from the Ministry of Education in June.
Primary teachers accepted a $1.5 billion pay offer from the Ministry of Education in June.
But primary and intermediate principals who are members of the union NZEI rejected a collective agreement offer from the ministry that failed to give them parity with secondary principals, and have been taking strike action since the start of July that has seen them disengage from the ministry.
In Auckland students at Newton Central School turned out in green today.
The school's principal Riki Teteina told 1 NEWS that the community has come out in support of the principals' collective agreement and the message they're trying to send to the Ministry of Education and the Government that "something needs to be done for principals and the salary and the expectations."
He said he was concerned that primary principals - many of who are based in small, rural schools - are being paid less than senior teachers and deputy principals.
"We're seen as CEOS. We're in charge of property; we're in charge of human resources; we're in charge of curriculum; and we're also responsible for probably the most important commodity in society, and that is the future of our society - our children.
"What's happened now is ... there are now teachers who may actually earn more than principals. We really need principals to be the epitome of the education sector - we want people to want to aspire to become principals.
"In particular, most of our principals are actually in small, rural schools, and if we're getting senior teachers and deputy principals earning more than principals in those small schools, the issue is going to be is 'who's going to lead those schools?'
"So we really are striking, and really trying to get the whole country to realise, that it's important that we do this for all of the principals in this country."
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