Panel Agreed For Secondary Teacher Arbitration

King’s Counsel and retired High Court Judge, Kit Toogood, will chair the arbitration panel, which will provide independent recommendations to settle the current dispute on secondary teachers’ remuneration and conditions.

The Ministry of Education and the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) announced today that they had agreed the panel membership.

The other members of the panel will be Hon. Tracey Martin, a former Associate Minister of Education and current Chair of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority Board, and Craig Renney, who is the Economist & Director of Policy at the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions. Mr Renney was also the former advisor to the Minister of Finance.

The panel is expected to start its work in a fortnight and to provide its recommendations approximately three weeks after that.

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Questions and answers

When will arbitration start?

The Chair will set meeting dates and time, we expect that the schedule of meetings will be set shortly.  

What does arbitration involve?  

Both parties will appear in front of the panel. They will make submissions and be questioned by the panel.   

The panel will make an interim determination and hear further submissions from both parties before coming to a final set of recommendations.  

The hearings will be held in private, but the recommendations will be made public.

How long will arbitration take?

Approximately three weeks.

How were the panel members selected?  

The PPTA and the Ministry of Education agreed the members based on their experience and expertise. The panel reflects their knowledge of government, the environment, and the law. 

Will the outcome be binding?  

Recommendations of the arbitration aren’t binding on either party.

The PPTA executive will recommend its members ratify a settlement in accordance with the outcome of the arbitration recommendations, but the right of ratification remains with members.

The Ministry of Education will recommend to Cabinet to agree the outcome of the arbitration recommendations. But the decision to agree remains with Cabinet.

Who pays for the arbitration process?

The costs will be shared equally between the Ministry of Education and the PPTA. 

When will the terms of reference be made available?  

The TOR will be published early next week. 

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