NZ Herald Reporter Rachel Maher on the picket line with striking Secondary School teachers.
Primary school teachers will earn annual pay rises above inflation as part of a new salary offer, with experienced educators getting the biggest increases, the Government says.
Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche said today’s new offer was strong, fair and helped teachers deal with cost-of-living pressures.
Teachers held nationwidestrikes last month over pay, with primary educators rejecting a 1% salary increase offer.
Roche said the new offer represented a 4.7% increase within 12 months and would cost $449 million over four years.
“It’s better than reasonable – it’s a targeted, fiscally responsible package that delivers meaningful increases for teachers at all stages of their careers.
NZEI Te Riu Roa union president Liam Rutherford had described an earlier pay offer to primary teachers as insulting but now the Government has put forward an increased offer. Photo / Supplied
He claimed the Government had “stretched” its financial limits to make the latest offer.
“There is no room to move further on remuneration,” he said.
It had taken the step because it wanted to “avoid prolonged industrial action that disrupts learning”, he said.
It comes after primary and secondary teachers earlier called their respective offers “insulting” and “appalling”.
Nearly 20,000 secondary school teachers went on strike on August 20, with NZEI Te Riu Roa union lead of the negotiation team Liam Rutherford saying the first offer was like being asked 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.”
The action is in response to what the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) describes as an “appalling” pay offer from the Government.
The government said the new offer in dollar terms equates to pay increases between $3803 and $9408 in the first year of the proposed agreement, with regular annual progression included.
Over two years, for those who are not at their top step, it meant increases of between $7757 and $16,926 depending on where teachers are on the base pay scale, it said.
The average salary for primary school teachers increased from around $85,000 three years ago to over $94,000 now, with approximately 57% of full-time primary teachers now earning between $90,000 and $110,000.
Another 16% earn over $110,000, the government said.
