Kindy Teachers Secure Quality Working Conditions

Kindergarten Teachers Secure Quality Working Conditions

A two year battle by kindergarten teachers to secure good quality working conditions has ended with 95% per cent of kindergarten teachers attending ratification meetings voting in favour of a ground-breaking new employment settlement.

For the first time the settlement specifies maximum hours of work and contact time with children and protects breaks for professional learning and planning, necessary to deliver high quality learning programmes for children attending kindergartens.

Kindergarten teachers attended 44 meetings around the country over the past two weeks organised by their union, NZEI Te Riu Roa, which represents more than 1700 kindergarten teachers.

The settlement aims to provide security and stability for teachers during a period of significant change in the sector , including the introduction of the 20 free hours for three and four year olds, NZEI Negotiations Team Leader Judith Nowotarski says.

“The settlement meets the need of kindergartens to offer more flexibility to their communities while meeting the teachers’ requirement to maintain the quality of education provided at kindergartens where operating hours are changing,” she says.

The settlement also strengthens the right of kindergarten teachers to be involved in discussions about re-organisations of kindergartens.

Ms Nowotarski says both those voting against the settlement and those in favour urged the NZEI to continue to address the issue of the number of contact hours for part-time teachers and for teachers working in all day kindergartens.

In December 2005, kindergarten teachers took strike action over proposed new working conditions because of concern that quality teaching and learning in kindergartens would be undermined. The new settlement took four months of intensive negotiations earlier this year to reach agreement with the Ministry of Education and the kindergarten associations.

ENDS

© Scoop Media