Teachers' union calls for urgent pay increases in early childhood sector

NZEI national president Liam Rutherford and field worker Emma Loveridge say urgent pay increases are needed in the ECE sector. Photo / Liz Wylie

Almost 97 per cent of New Zealand children under 5 attend early childhood education (ECE) centres and many centres are struggling to recruit and retain trained workers.

New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) teachers' union national president Liam Rutherford and Manawatū, Whanganui and Ruapehu field officer Emma Loveridge, who were visiting Whanganui ECE centres this week, said lack of pay parity for ECE teachers was at the heart of problems in the sector.

Rutherford said teachers working at ECEs were currently paid 31.8 per cent less than kindergarten and primary teachers with the same skills, qualifications and responsibilities.

"That equates to a pay gap of around $17,000 and that's just not good enough," he said.

"It translates to centres struggling to retain good staff who are likely to end up leaving for better-paid positions or jobs that don't require a qualification but offer better pay.

"We can't keep losing good people from the sector."

Loveridge said it was very hard for teachers who had become invested in the centres and the children they worked with.

"They are very conflicted because they don't want to leave the centres where they have established those important relationships," she said.

"The problem is that they have to think about their own livelihoods and families so they have no choice."

The results of an NZEI survey of early childhood educators released this week revealed significant concerns about the impacts of teacher shortages on teachers and children and suggested the situation is worsening.

The survey showed that 92 per cent of teachers believed there was a current teacher shortage in the sector, and more than 80 per cent of them felt personally impacted by shortages.

Educators also said they felt unable to give the children in their centres the time and attention they deserved, with more than 86 per cent believing teacher shortages were having impacts on children.

Rutherford said the figures suggested a worsening situation when compared against a survey conducted at the start of 2020.

"Education Minister Chris Hipkins made an election promise to deliver pay parity for these teachers, but we haven't seen a plan.

"NZEI will be calling on him to make a commitment to deliver parity urgently when the Government delivers the budget in May. It is time to address pay parity in the sector once and for all."

Teachers responding to the survey spoke about experiencing burnout and working in "unstable and stressful" environments.

One said a lack of staffing had made her unable to take her entitled breaks despite being heavily pregnant, and others cited colleagues who had looked elsewhere for work, including at supermarkets, where they felt work was less stressful and they would receive higher pay.