Principals claim fair pay to stay

19 July 2007

Principals claim fair pay to stay

“The increased expectations and complexities of a secondary principals’ job have brought recruitment and retention issues to the forefront of this year’s claims for the renewal of the Secondary Principals’ Collective Agreement”, says Arthur Graves, Chair of the NZ Secondary Principals’ Council.

A recent survey of secondary principals indicated that as many as 50% may be gone from their positions within four years.

“We already know that some fields of applicants for principal positions are very small, but this is alarming given that only about half of those leaving say it will be due to retirement.”

Secondary principals last week lodged claims with the Ministry of Education to increase their remuneration package over three years by an average of 18%. They seek these increases through an adjustment to their staffing supplementary rates and some monetary recognition of the responsibilities associated with high stakes national qualifications.

Secondary principals also would like better access to ongoing professional support and more clarity and direction around the roles and responsibilities of their employers towards them.

“We feel under-valued for the wide ranging responsibilities and expectations placed on us. Many principals feel that these are increasing without fair recognition.”

“We believe we should be rewarded appropriately for our efforts. What we propose can be implemented easily over three years.”

ENDS

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