Photo: 123rf
Primary teachers have voted to reject a one percent pay rise from the Ministry of Education.
The vote, which closed on Wednesday, saw primary teachers overwhelmingly say 'no' to the collective agreement offer.
Teacher and NZEI Te Riu Roa primary teacher negotiation team lead Liam Rutherford said the ministry's offer was essentially asking teachers to take a pay cut.
"On the heels of the government scrapping our pay equity claim, this offer was insulting, and members have overwhelmingly reflected that sentiment in the vote," he said.
"As educators, we want to be valued, supported, and respected for our work. Yet this offer doesn't address our key claims or the issues that we've spoken up about."
Rutherford said the current offer contains no reference to teachers' Toitū Te Tiriti claim, which would introduce an expression of the obligations and commitments of the parties to Te Tiriti in the collective agreement.
He said it also does little to address other pay-related claims to recognise additional expertise or responsibilities that primary teachers may hold, he says.
But the public service commissioner said the primary teachers’ union was being disingenuous with media and the public.
Sir Brian Roche said the union was misleading over what its members will receive over the next three years – and ignored pay advances for primary teachers.
“The offer of a 3 percent increase for the next three years is on top of a further 3.9 percent to 7.7 percent in pay increases already built-in for each of the next three years. This comes after primary teachers received pay advances of up to 14.5 percent in the last three years,” the statement said.
“In dollar terms, the current offer equates to pay increases between $3,169 and $7,939 in the first year of the proposed agreement, with regular annual progression included. Over three years, for those who are not at their top step, it means increases of between $7,275 and $15,250 depending on where teachers are on the base pay scale.”
This is a reasonable and responsible offer, especially in the context of significant increases in recent years and the current economic climate, Roche said.
From 18- 29 August, primary teachers will head into mass paid union meetings with other education member groups, including principals, support staff and Ministry of Education learning support to decide on their next steps.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
