Pay equity for teacher aides
We are very pleased to announce that together with NZEI Te Riu Roa, we have agreed to settle the pay equity claim for teacher aides.
We worked alongside NZEI Te Riu Roa and the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA), to complete an 18 month investigation last year to confirm that teacher aides - who are mostly women - are being paid less than men for doing work that is different but of equal value.
The claim was detailed and complex, and we followed the State Services Commission’s reconvened joint working group Pay Equity Principles to achieve an outcome that is fair and sustainable.
One of the outcomes for teacher aides is fair pay rates that will see them being paid the same as men working in roles of equal value.
The new rates will range from $21.20 to $34.68 per hour, and be effective from 12 February 2020.
Schools will receive the additional funds by October 2020 and teacher aides will receive the new fair pay rates by November, backdated to 12 February 2020.
Details of the settlement will be widely communicated to all teacher aides before NZEI Te Riu Roa members vote on a variation to the Support Staff in Schools Collective Agreement in July.
Non-union employees need to agree a new Individual Employment Agreement (IEA) with their school to access the new rates, or join NZEI Te Riu Roa to be covered by the collective agreement. The new IEA will be published on the Ministry's website.
Over the following months, the Ministry and NZSTA will also be developing guidance for schools to help them understand the settlement changes and how they impact them at a school level. This will include information, online videos and tools.
More information about the teacher aide pay equity settlement.
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