Pay equity claims commence for admin staff in schools and Kaiārahi i te reo
The Ministry and NZEI Te Riu Roa have signed the terms of reference for the administration and clerical staff in schools, and Kaiārahi i te reo pay equity claims.
There are three main stages of a pay equity claim - raising the claim, assessing the claim and settling the claim. The signing of the terms of reference will allow parties to move into the assessment of the claims, with interviews due to start in the week beginning 27 July 2020 for administration staff and the week beginning 10 August 2020 for Kaiārahi i te reo.
The staff covered by these claims are an important part of the education workforce, with approximately 10,000 administration and clerical staff, and 79 Kaiārahi i te reo working in primary, intermediate, area, secondary schools and kura and Te Kura.
The main purpose for the assessment is to find out whether these staff are being paid less than comparable roles in male dominated workforces. If the assessment process confirms this, then the parties move into negotiating a settlement outcome that sees their pay adjusted to remove any element of gender undervaluation.
The claims will be worked on together by the Ministry, NZEI Te Riu Roa (on behalf of the claimants) and New Zealand School Trustees Association (on behalf of the employer).
They will be managed as separate claims, however activities such as training, investigation and resources will be aligned where possible.
Both claims will follow the Joint Working Group Pay Equity Principles that guide the resolution of pay equity claims.
Since the claim was raised, the Ministry and NZEI Te Riu Roa have been researching a range of schools and kura to get a better idea of the structure and functions of their administration staff. Information gathered during this preliminary investigation will be used to inform the administration claim.
All parties have also been working to agree the principles, process and timelines to administer both claims.
More information about the pay equity process can be found on the Ministry’s website.
Last reviewed: Has this been useful? Give us your feedback