31 January 2013
Immediate Release
Deadline Needed For Novopay Fix-Up Plan
NZEI Te Riu Roa President Judith Nowotarski says Senior Cabinet Minister Steven Joyce’s plan to fix the Novopay system
is a step in the right direction but a deadline for fixing the beleaguered pay system must be set.
“Our members have had enough and put up with this for too long. They have been suffering with this system since last
September when it was first introduced.
“They have been paid wrongly, had their third party payments affected and this has caused a lot of people a lot of
stress.
“Principals and school administration staff have put in long hours to sort this mess out so we are still sceptical and
want a time limit to fix it. There may be a plan now but it’s cold comfort to our members who are still suffering.
“Compensation must be paid to schools for these extra hours and for the money schools have spent out of their own
budgets.”
She says school staff had returned to schools early in expectation of yet another error-ridden pay period.
The opportunity for union participation in the process again through the revitalisation of the Novopay reference group
was vital.
“Sector engagement has been critical all the way along and this has been lacking.
“We also see there is the fallback position - going back to the previous supplier - Datacom. This is why we need a
deadline. This error-ridden system cannot go on.”
The Minister’s commitment to a ministerial inquiry, which NZEI has welcomed and wishes to play an active part in, will
establish what went wrong and who is accountable.
ENDS