Pay Settlement Reached for Area School Teachers

After a long period of negotiations, a pay settlement has been reached for the country’s area school teachers.

It involves teachers in more than 90 area schools which cater to students through from Year 1 to 13. These schools are often of special character or are in rural and remote parts of the country.

The settlement of the Area School Teachers’ Collective Agreement comes after area school teachers introduced meeting bans in a bid to try and get the Ministry of Education to take their issues seriously.

It will deliver a 3% pay increase on salary steps 7,8,9, a 2.93% increase on the top step (step 14), a 2.51% increase on step 11 and a 1.71% increase on step 12. All other steps get an increase of 2.75%.

“We hope the wait has been worth it and we present the settlement to members believing it is the best one we could achieve in this difficult bargaining environment with a government obsessed with ‘fiscal restraint’,” said PPTA President Robin Duff.

NZEI President Ian Leckie says “I am pleased that a settlement has been reached which enhances the pay and conditions of area school teachers. It will help with recruitment and retention issues which can often prove challenging for area schools.”

The settlement has now gone out to area school teachers for ratification. It is hoped the agreement can be signed next week so new pay rates can take effect as soon as possible.

ENDS

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