The Post Primary Teachers' Association has rejected an offer from the government to, amongst other things, increase the pay of secondary teachers by roughly 9% over three years. Some delegates, who voted against the offer, have called it "insulting".
On the other side, Ministry for Education Christ Hipkins considers the union's claim of a 15% pay rise to be "out of the ballpark".
While the negotiations are still underway, the shortage of teachers and their increasing workload is destabilising a vital profession.
Host Lisa Boudet talks to the union's president, Jack Boyle, about the current and looming challenges the secondary teaching field faces.