Kindergarten support staff achieve pay rise in tough financial climate

21 November 2014

The valuable contribution of kindergarten support staff has been recognised with a pay increase, despite the significant funding cuts that the kindergarten associations are experiencing.

The pay increase is 1.6% from October this year and another 1.2% from October 2015.

NZEI Te Riu Roa negotiated the new collective agreement on behalf of support staff, who include office administrators and teacher aides.

NZEI President Judith Nowotarski said that while the these increases did not meet NZEI’s objective to introduce the Living Wage across the pay scales, the non-profit kindergarten associations were under huge financial strain due to cuts in government funding.

“Kindergartens deserve full credit for their commitment to quality education and retaining 100% qualified teachers. They also recognise that support staff are a valuable part of the team and not simply a discretionary cost that can bear the brunt of funding constraints,” she said.

Since 2010, the government no longer funds ECE centres for 100% qualified teaching staff. Centres that continue to employ more than 80% of floor staff as qualified teachers must make up the funding shortfall. The legal minimum is 50% qualified teachers and many for-profit services operate at little more than the minimum required level.

While nine of the kindergarten associations ratified the proposed settlement, Counties Manukau Kindergarten Association (CMKA) is continuing negotiations with NZEI to develop a site-specific agreement to respond to the needs of support staff members in the area.

The recent pay equity win for aged care workers may also have future ramifications for other female-dominated sectors like kindergarten support workers. The Employment Court ruled that the wages paid by Terranova to its caregivers were lower than they would be if caregiving of the aged was not work predominantly performed by women, and that such low pay breaches the Equal Pay Act.

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