16 July 2019
NZEI Te Riu Roa's kindergarten teacher members will vote on a proposed settlement to their collective agreement after
four days of negotiations with the Ministry of Education and kindergarten employers.
Lead negotiator Virginia Oakly says that the negotiation team worked hard to press their claims, and it's now up to
members to decide whether to accept the offer.
"The proposed settlement certainly doesn't address all our claims, particularly around workload, expertise allowances
and better career pathways. However, it does include parity with the compulsory sector and the pay increases that
primary teachers fought very long and hard for. It will be up to members to decide whether that is enough to settle for,
or if they want to fight on," she said.
The proposed settlement includes:
• Pay parity with primary and secondary school teachers, delivering the same pay increases and unified pay scale
primary teachers accepted in their settlement
• An increase in the head teacher and senior teacher allowance
• A one-off payment of $1500 (pro-rated for part-timers) for teachers who were NZEI Te Riu Roa members on 12 July
2019
• A commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
• Refreshment and lunch breaks to reflect the updated legislation
Members will vote on whether to ratify the proposed settlement in an online ballot. The ballot closes at 5pm on Thursday
25 July. The outcome of the ballot will be announced the following day.
ENDS