$420m pay deal for primary teachers

By STUART DYE

Primary school teachers have been offered a $420 million deal involving pay increases of 8.5 per cent and, for the first time, time out from lessons.

NZEI Te Riu Roa, the union representing about 25,000 primary teachers, has hailed the proposed agreement as a "historic step forward".

The deal, struck with the Ministry of Education after 25 days of talks, will see an extra 800 teachers employed and every teacher getting 10 hours a term away from the classroom.

The union started its annual meeting yesterday in Wellington buoyed by the proposed settlement.

"The proposed collective is worth $420 million and includes a number of significant advances in the conditions for teachers working in primary and intermediate schools," said president Colin Tarr.

Last month, the union warned that industrial action was not far away after the Government rejected its call for non-contact hours.

"Primary-sector teachers made it clear throughout these negotiations that issues involving their workload, their teaching qualifications, the career paths for teachers and the need to support beginning teachers had to be addressed," said Mr Tarr.

The improved offer would provide time during the school day so teachers could do lesson planning, student assessment, administrative work and professional development they now did after school or during the weekend, he said.

The union is holding briefings throughout the country and will urge its members to accept the deal. It is hoped a ballot will be held in early November.

Under the agreement, the starting salary for a teacher with a bachelor of teaching degree increases from $36,256 to $42,325 by July 2006.

The deal has also been welcomed by the School Trustees Association.

President Chris Haines described it as "a constructive step to look at long-term improvements which will have significant benefits to all students".

Key aspects

* An 8.5 per cent across-the-board pay rise over the three-year term of the proposed collective.

* An increase in the value of a unit from $3000 to $3500 by July 2006. (Units are annual payments to teachers for carrying out extra responsibilities.)

* The tutor teacher allowance to increase from $500 to $2000 by the start of 2006.

* Teachers with a relevant one-year qualification at Level Seven of the Qualifications Authority framework, in addition to a bachelor of teaching or advanced diploma of teaching, will have access to the top pay step.

* A long-term work programme to enable the NZEI and the Ministry of Education to work on strategies for development of the primary workforce.