Kaiārahi i te reo Pay Equity Claim

Learn more about the Kaiārahi i te reo Pay Equity Claim settled in July 2022.

On 4 July 2022, we settled the pay equity claim for kaiārahi i te reo with NZEI Te Riu Roa.  

Following endorsement by the employees covered by the claim, the settlement will now see more than 80 kaiārahi i te reo, mostly wāhine Māori, being fairly valued and paid for the work they do. 

• What's happening now
• Parental Payment Guide published
• Payment to employees
• Former employees
• Funding
• Guidance on implementing the settlement
• Webinars and hui
• The role of kaiārahi i te reo
• How we got here
• More information

What's happening now

Parental Payment Guide published

A parental payment, equivalent to six weeks’ pay, was introduced as part of the settlement. A guide explaining the parental payment and the process for applying was published on 20 March 2023.

Payment to employees

Kaiārahi i te reo received their first payment at the new pay equity rates (including payment for the period from 20 August 2021 to 30 September 2022) on Tuesday 18 October. This includes payment to people who finished on or after 1 September 2022.

Former employees

Former employees who were covered by the claim can request their pay equity payment by completing the form through the link below.  

Details on completing the form, as well as common questions about the payment to former employees, are also available through the link. 

Schools and kura will not be required to pay covered former employees, who finished employment on or prior to 31 August 2022. The Ministry will pay them directly once they have completed the form below.   

Form for former employees to request a pay equity payment(external link)

People who finished employment on or after 1 September 2022 were paid as part of the 18 October payment.    

Non-EPL schools  

Employees who worked in schools or kura who did not use EPL will need to contact their school or kura. Schools and kura will be provided funding to cover these employees.

Funding

Covered employees in state and state-integrated schools and kura, including those who may have finished their job on or after 20 August 2021 and started another position at another school, or left the workforce entirely, are included in the settlements.

The Ministry provides the additional pay equity funding required by translating covered employees from the old pay scale to the new pay equity pay scale. This is a point-to-point translation following the translation rules of the settlements. Point-to-point means that covered employees will be transferred from their point on the previous Position Elements Table to the equivalent point on the new pay equity work matrix.

Funding calculation

Settlement funding is provided to cover the difference between the old pay scale rate and the new pay equity pay scale rate. This funding is calculated for all hours worked, by covered employees, from the effective date of the kaiārahi i te reo pay equity settlement:

For more information, visit Administration support staff and Kaiārahi i te reo pay equity settlement funding. 

Guidance on implementing the settlements

Guidance is available (see documents in the table below) to help you understand and implement the changes resulting from the settlement.  

The guidance documents include information on the ongoing pay equity funding from the Ministry, guidance on how to use the new work matrix, information on employees translating from the old pay rates to the new pay rates, guidance on pay equity regrading, and guidance on the parental payment.

A roadmap is also available which provides an overview of the key implementation activities of both the Administration support staff (APEC) and Kaiārahi i te reo (KPEC) pay equity settlements, planned for 2022 and 2023.

Webinars and hui

To further support you in implementing the settlement, we hosted webinars and a series of kanohi ki te kanohi hui with NZSTA and NZEI Te Riu Roa, to outline the changes resulting from the settlement, and to provide additional support to you in understanding the settlement. You can view a recording of one of the webinars through the link below. 

View the pay equity settlement webinar(external link)

The role of kaiārahi i te reo

The role of kaiārahi i te reo is to support the development and preservation of te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori within schools and kura.  

They are recognised for their involvement within the community and their knowledge and experience of te ao Māori. They also contribute to creating inclusive and safe spaces by growing the cultural capability of ākonga and kaimahi in schools and kura. 

How we got here

Timeline of the Kaiārahi i te reo pay equity claim to date

Last reviewed: 20 March 2023 Has this been useful? Give us your feedback