Principals criticise primary school pay offer
A principal has labelled new collective agreement offers put before primary school educators as a ‘‘slap in the face’’.
Another described the Ministry of Education’s offer like a ‘‘red flag to a bull’’ and raised the spectre of more industrial action by New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa members.
The damning indictments of the deals – which would give most teachers and principals a 3 per cent pay increase each year over three years – have come as educators prepared to vote on whether to accept them in a secret ballot next week.
Under the revised offers, teachers at the top of the pay scale would earn $82,992 a year by 2020, while principals with a roll of fewer than 50 students would take home
$92,976 – up from $81,553 – as well as receiving a $2320 leadership payment.
The Ministry said the measures were in direct response to union criticism that the previous offer was weighted too heavily towards new teachers.
If ratified, new teachers would see their pay increase from $47,980 to $50,902 from
mid-2019, and lifting to $52,429 the following year – less than the previous offer.
Ministry secretary of education Iona Holsted said the cost of the department’s offer was $569 million over four years.
Newton Central School principal Riki Teteina said staff at his Auckland school were ‘‘incredibly disheartened’’ by the proposals and called them a ‘‘slap in the face’’.
‘‘That offer shows how much the Government undervalues the work our teachers are doing for society,’’ Teteina said.
Beach Haven School principal Stephanie Thompson said the ‘‘paltry’’ offers didn’t address teachers’ workloads or wellbeing, and would do little to avert a deepening teacher shortage.
‘‘It’s a token to get rid of us, it’s an insult to our teachers.
‘‘It’s been like a red flag to a bull — instead of appeasing the profession, this offer has ignited and stoked the coals of the fire.’’
Auckland Primary Principals’ Association president Helen Varney said it was hard to say whether further industrial action would follow, but felt there had been ‘‘minimal movement’’ by the Ministry.
NZEI has chosen not to make any recommendations on how members should vote.
It noted there were no provisions for reducing workloads or class sizes in the revised offer, nor any fresh funding for supporting children with special needs.