Market rates will drive down quality education for young

2 June 2011
For Immediate Release

Market rates will drive down quality education for young children

A proposal to introduce market-driven pay rates in early childhood would drive down quality education for children and hark back to the failed employment policies of the 1990s, says the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa.

The government-appointed Early Childhood Taskforce is recommending that early childhood teachers’ salaries be determined by the market and any minimum standards over pay and conditions be removed.

NZEI represents thousands of early childhood teachers in services throughout the country.

“It is disappointing to see the Taskforce recommending a market-driven model for teacher pay as it doesn’t line up with the rest of the report which focuses on delivering quality early childhood education and increasing the professionalism of the early childhood teacher workforce,” says NZEI National Secretary Paul Goulter.

There is clear evidence that market-driven models in early childhood education don’t work as they drive down teacher pay and conditions, which in turn affects the quality of care and education for children.

“You can’t get good quality teaching on minimum wages and quality education cannot be delivered in an environment where staff are poorly paid, stressed and overworked,” says Mr Goulter.

“Removing the minimum standards for teacher pay and conditions and claiming the market will deliver fairness would take us back to the employment environment of the Employment Contracts Act, which we know was disastrous.”

“The move to a market-driven model is out of step with the rest of the report and would put the successful teaching and learning of our youngest children at risk,” he says.

ENDS

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