Pay equity proposal for school administrators
School administration support staff are set to receive a significant income increase if a proposed pay equity settlement reached between the Ministry of Education and NZEI Te Riu Roa is approved by employees covered by the claim, Secretary for Education, Iona Holsted and NZEI Te Riu Roa president, Liam Rutherford, announced today.
Last year, the Ministry and NZEI Te Riu Roa carried out a comprehensive 18-month investigation to determine whether school administration support staff are being paid less than male-dominated workforces performing work of the same value.
The new pay equity rates would see school administration support staff receive average pay increases of approximately 4 percent to 30 percent.
As an example, a school administrator who is currently earning $26.20 per hour would see their income rise to $31.99 per hour.
The new rates are intended to apply from 20 August 2021 which was when the evidence of undervaluation was confirmed by both parties.
“Pay equity is a fundamental tool in addressing historical sex-based bias in education workforce pay rates, and in fairly recognising these workers’ skills,” Iona Holsted said.
NZEI Te Riu Roa will consult with employees covered by the claim for the next four weeks. They will then vote on whether to accept the proposed settlement.
If endorsed by affected employees, the settlement will see approximately 11,000 school administration support staff being fairly valued and paid for the work they do.
Pay equity settlements have already been reached for teacher aides and education support workers. The Ministry and NZEI Te Riu Roa expect to be able to provide an update on the kaiārahi i te reo pay equity claim outcome in the near future.
The Ministry of Education and the Post Primary Teachers Association / Te Wehengarua (PPTA), NZEI Te Riu Roa, the Public Service Association (PSA), the Association for Professional and Executive Employees (APEX), the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA), are jointly working on several more pay equity claims across education workforces.
Details of these claims can be found on Pay equity.
Last reviewed: Has this been useful? Give us your feedback