Groundbreaking principals’ settlement should give hope

Groundbreaking principals’ settlement should give hope to secondary teachers.

Secondary principals are pleased to have reached a settlement for their collective agreement and hope the same flexibility and willingness to spend money will be shown for secondary teachers.

New Zealand Secondary Principals’ council (NZSPC) chair Julia Davidson and Secondary Principals’ Association of New Zealand (SPANZ) president Patrick Walsh say the settlement represents a major step forward in terms of career structure by recognising the complexity of the secondary principal’s job.

“The settlement provides a groundbreaking way of reformulating remuneration for secondary principals which has no flow on to primary,” Walsh said.

This meant the needs of secondary principals could be met without being fettered by the additional costs of having to factor in the wage pass-on to primary principals through the entrenchment clause, Davidson said.

Davidson believed an offer that similarly recognised the work secondary teachers did would be successful in getting secondary teachers back to the bargaining table.

“It the ministry is prepared to show the same flexibility and willingness to put in a reasonable amount of money that was demonstrated with principals, I believe a settlement could be easily reached,” she said.

This was the first settlement bargained jointly by NZSPC and SPANZ and the leaders of both groups paid tribute to the bargaining team.

“It has been a lengthy, and at times frustrating, process, but the team has worked collegially and with undivided determination to deliver a settlement that recognises principals’ workload, career plans, professional learning needs and the requirement for better industrial safeguards,” Walsh said.

Secondary principals’ settlement

* The secondary principals’ settlement delivers an average of 5% across a settlement of just over two years (to March 2013) but the range varies for individuals from 3.7% to 6.7%, depending on experience.
* It does this through the introduction of secondary-specific career structure payments: $3500 after three years, $7000 after six and $10,500 after nine.
* Boards must have a professional development plan in place as part of the introduction of the career payment and principals will need to meet professional criteria to receive each payment
* None of the costs of the new career structure for 320 secondary principals can flow on to the 2000 primary principals through the entrenchment clause as they are payments made to individuals who meet specific criteria.

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