NZ Secondary Teachers Are Lowest Paid in the Developed World
Monday 3 Jun 2002 Donna Awatere Huata Press Releases -- Education
Dutch research shows New Zealand secondary teachers are paid less than their counterparts in any developed nation, ACT
Education Spokesman MP Donna Awatere Huata said today.
"International comparative research commissioned by the Netherlands Centraal Planbureau has just been published. It
reveals New Zealand secondary teachers receive significantly less pay per hour of instruction than their counterparts in
Australia, the United States of America or any country in the European Union.
"The research also shows our secondary teachers have to cope with more children in the classroom. Average classes in
the Netherlands have 17.2 students, Germany 15.2 and France 12.8. Every day, a significant portion of secondary teachers
in New Zealand face classes of at least 20 children, and in the worst instances teachers have to deal with more than 30
kids.
"The Government's pay offer won't move us from last-place. Average wage growth in New Zealand is three percent per
year, yet teachers are expected to accept just 1.83 percent. That won't even keep pace with inflation, let alone put our
teachers on an international footing.
"Centralised pay negotiations between one union and one bunch of out-of-touch bureaucrats have crippled the education
sector. Individual schools should have the power to pay teachers what they are worth. Our teachers aren't the worst in
the world, we should stop treating them like they are," Mrs Awatere Huata said.
For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at
act@parliament.govt.nz.