Teacher pay rise: Northland education leaders hopeful 14.5 per cent increase accepted

A teachers' strike in March this year saw secondary school, primary school and preschool teachers move in unity. Photo / Michael Cunningham

While school principals are hopeful secondary school teachers will accept the Government’s latest pay offer, one worries the money will be plucked from other areas within education.

Secondary school teachers who are part of the NZ Post Primary Teachers’ Association Te Wehengarua (PPTA) union will this week vote on whether to accept the recommended 14.5 per cent pay rise offered by the Ministry of Education.

The increase would come in by December next year, and Education Minister Jan Tinetti said it would add approximately $680 million to the $3.76 billion already set aside to settle agreements with teachers and principals.

Otamatea High School principal Dirk Smyth believed parents and students who have had to grapple with the disruption caused by the ongoing industrial action would be more likely to welcome a yes vote than teachers.

“It is hardly an offer that says ‘we value teachers’, as it is unlikely to be enough to compensate for inflation,” he said.

But Tikipunga High School principal and Te Manihi Tumuaki Northland Principals’ Association chairman Alec Solomon thought the new offer recognised how pivotal quality teachers are - although he was concerned about where the money for the increase would come from.

Tikipunga High School principal and Te Manihi Tumuaki Northland Principals’ Association chairman Alec Solomon. Photo / Tania Whyte

Solomon’s worry stemmed from statements by Tinetti, who said when announcing the offer that about half the extra spending would come out of reprioritising existing education funding, and another half out of next year’s Budget - a move National criticised as poor economic management.

Solomon was not alone.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told 1News concerns had been raised around what would occur if the money were to be pulled from other areas in education.

He said ultimately, governments had to “make the books balance”. His Government, he explained, was “looking very closely” at how they could pay for the offer, which comes with a “multi-billion-dollar price tag”.

A price tag that Solomon believed would be better for attracting and retaining teachers.

But Smyth said there needed to be systematic changes to make a difference long-term.

While he hoped the offer was accepted so teachers and students could focus with certainty on the remainder of the year, he wanted greater genuine investment into the profession.

“It is very, very hard to find teachers - nevermind good teachers - and more and more often, I have to go overseas to look for suitable candidates.

“Until our politicians stop using education as a political football; until they stop feeling the need to constantly waste taxpayers’ money on their addiction to change, rather than simply investing in teachers, then our quality of education will continue to decline,” he said.

“The current political climate does not give me much confidence that will change any.”

Brodie Stone is the education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie recently graduated from Massey University and has a special interest in the environment and investigative reporting.