Negotiations begin on pay for primary principals

Media Release August 24, 2007
From NZEI Te Riu Roa Embargoed: for use
Monday 27 August

Negotiations begin on pay claim for primary school principals

NZEI, Te Riu Roa, begins negotiations today (Monday August 27th) with the Ministry of Education for a pay increase for the country’s 1920 primary school principals.

The NZEI is seeking a pay increase of between 5% and 18% for the principals in the first year, depending on the size of their school. The increase would reinstate a sensible margin between the base salary of a small school principal and the top rate of a classroom teacher. A further 4% increase per year for the second and third years of the proposed agreement is also sought, along with 200 sabbatical leave positions of 10 weeks durations, up from a current 40 such sabbatical positions.

NZEI National Vice President and Bargaining Team Leader Frances Nelson says the total cost of the pay claim is likely to be around $35 million.

“We acknowledge that this is a significant cost but New Zealand has a major problem with the recruitment and retention of principals,” she says.

Recent research by NZEI shows that 39 percent of the 90 schools advertising for a principal in the Education Gazette over the past six months have had to do so more than once. Some small rural schools were advertising more than four times.

Ms Nelson says both the pay increase and the margin over classroom teachers are essential if teachers are to have an incentive to step up to the added responsibilities involved in being a principal, which include management of staff, school administration, compliance issues and managing relationships with a Board, in addition to the hours in the classroom that most teaching principals do.

“Principals are strongly united in their support of this claim and in their concern about workload and stress arising from the 24 hour a day nature of the role and the diversity of tasks and skills involved. In July, 99 percent of principals voted to support the claim,” Ms Nelson said.

“Sustaining principals’ energies and supporting their professional learning is another critical factor if we are to retain principals and make their role more attractive for future recruitment. We regard support for on-going learning, through the increase in sabbatical leave positions, as a central plank in the claim,” Ms Nelson says.

“This is a significant claim in response to a major problem with the recruitment and retention of principals. If we cannot attract and recruit good people to be school leaders, our internationally respected schooling system and our students’ learning will suffer. All the research shows that investing in school leadership is fundamental to ensuring we maintain and enhance quality public education in the 21st century.”

NZEI also wants to see “growing leadership” as a deliberate strategy in education. It has worked with the Ministry of Education and the School Trustees Association to create a new career pathway model leading to principalship. This also requires appropriate resourcing, and is being negotiated through the current primary teacher collective agreement negotiations.

ENDS

© Scoop Media