PM encouraged to shut down charter schools following damning report

The Public Service Association says Prime Minister Christopher Luxon must reign in ACT leader David Seymour's "ideological obsession" with charter schools following a damning report.

The select committee report revealed previously confidential legal advice that charter school rules will likely breach international labour and free trade agreements.

The advice was initially sent to MPs and sector groups as part of a regulatory impact statement, but were later informed it was an illegally privileged draft.

Subsequently, a revised version was released with portions of the advice redacted.

Labour revealed the advice and attempts to restrict MPs and public access to it in their minority report on the Education and Training Amendment Bill.

The advice said obstructing charter school staff from joining Multi-Employer Collective Agreements (MECAs) would likely breach International Labour Organisation obligations.

Speaking to William Terite on Pacific Mornings, PSA Spokesperson Fleur Fitzsimons said the government needed to back down on this and allow charter school workers access to MECAs.

She said this issue expands beyond Seymour's "obsession" with another education model, as restricting charter school staff from MECAs conflicts with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions and New Zealand's commitment to free trade agreements.

"And the worst thing is the government knows it and is trying to cover it up," Fitzsimons said.

"It's really disappointing because what we need to see is transparency when it comes to our commitment to free trade agreements and our commitments to the ILO - these commitments mean something.

"The Prime Minister needs to show some leadership and make sure New Zealand isn't breaching its commitments internationally."

She also said the attempt to hinder MP and public access to the aforementioned legal advice "goes to show the lengths this government is going to".

"To impose this model of charter schools which is an experiment with children's education onto our education system."

Watch the full interview via 531pi's FB below:

RNZ reported that Seymour rejected cause for concern, saying staff or unions could compel the schools to join a MECA, and they should not have to.

He said it's "absurd" to think there's a threat to the Bill of Rights Act, that charter schools are to uplift the children's achievement and attendance rates, not the adults, and that Labour has "shown their true colours".

"Frankly, when people are more concerned about the adults in the school than the children, I start to get worried," Seymour said.

Associate Education Minister David Seymour. Photo /RNZ/REECE BAKER

Fitzsimons said it's "very dangerous" how the ACT Party will step over long-standing conventions and commitments New Zealand has made, over an "ideological obsession".

"Those [Teaching Professions'] terms and conditions that apply to teachers all over New Zealand, and are contained in that (MECAs) that the government wants to stop them accessing, have been developed because they recognise the complexity of teaching.

"The issue teachers face in the classroom every day has been agreed to properly reward teachers for the work that they do.

"And now to exclude these charter school teachers from these terms and conditions is just a step backwards for our whole education system."