Collective Negotiations

Firstly, I'd like to thank those who came to the meeting at Te Pae early on Thursday morning so we could share with you information from our meeting with the Ministry of Education.

On Tuesday this week Hayley, Mark and I met with the Ministry of Education Negotiation team.

Each side was made  introduction.  You read mine in a separate article. We then presented our claims. The MoE's team asked a number of  questions to dig deeper into our claims. The MoE also bring a claim for changes to Sick Leave. We are waiting for the details on this to see how it might impact on principals. We will come to you when we have further information.

In their introduction they acknowledged the circumstances we are operating and work undertaken principals, the changes in the way we all work and that our work was valued. They gave context to their position. Some of their points were

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• First time were negotiationing two collectives for Primary Principals
  
• Ministry of Education is undergoing significant change. This includes establishing Te Mahau with a regional structure, not only to bring support closer to schools, but very importantly, to ensure that there is a stronger frontline voice in decision-making and creating policy.
• They  are approaching the bargaining  process against a background of considerable effort to decrease silos and positionality, and to increase understanding, collaboration and connectedness.
• They acknowledged the important role of NZSTA and other employer organisations play in representing those boards.
• Acknowledged the impact that COVID-19 has had on our society, the economy and the Government’s fiscal position over the last three years.
  
• The impact on schools of the last three years and the efforts made in blended learning
• They acknowledged the collaboration undertaken with schooling sector and MoE to find solutions by working together.
• They made it clear that they had provided many supports for us including EAP and  additional relief teacher funding.
  
• The pointed out the considerable Government investment in the Sector to improve conditions, effectiveness and outcomes.
• They wanted us to be aware of what was delivered in the previous settlement of the Primary Principals’ Collective Agreement saw significant increases to the Unified Base Salary Scale, provided through substantial Government investment. i.e average annual remuneration for primary school principal in 2021 was $138,144, up from $123,150 in 2017 –an increase of 12%. The CPI increased by 8.2% during the same period. In comparison, the average annual remuneration for a primary teacher, including allowances and management units, in 2021 was $83,774.
• Stated the government continuing to support education across a wide spectrum e.g workload associated with performance appraisal, overhauling the requirement that teachers and principals had identified as administratively burdensome, investment in scholarships and recruitment initiatives to increase teacher supply, particularly in recruiting Kaiako Māori.
• Since 2021, the government has provided over $84 million to strengthen Positive Behaviour for Learning, maintain community engagement hubs in Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington, and improve intensive support for students with additional learning needs or who are at risk of disengaging with learning.
• Supporting Māori and pacific bilingual and immersion education continues to be key focus with $20.2 million additional funding provided since 2021.
• Additional large scale system investment the Government has introduced to support the sector more effectively include
• The establishment of Te Mahauto provide more direct support to the front line and better access to support services
•  The introduction of the Equity Index to replace the decile system and 3.6 billion provided for school property, including the School Investment Package which gave all schools up to $400,000 to complete property projects, ensuring classrooms are fit for purpose, with a further $777 million provided through Budget2022 to deliver new schools, kura and classrooms.
  
• A commitment to pay equity which has significantly improved the remuneration for teacher aides, kaiārahi I te reo and administration staff. These are roles which are crucial to supporting teacher led learning programmes and rangatahi.
  
• Bargaining of the collective is being undertaken in the context of all of these initiatives to support the workforce and improve the delivery of education.
• Key priorities for the Government are for remuneration is a focus on lifting the pay of low paid staff, addressing gender pay inequities.
  
• They made it clear that they recognise the economic pressures that our members are currently under and that they knew the work we do.
• Finally they commit to bargaining on all claims for remuneration and conditions in good faith.
  

As you can see there scene setting was trying to manage our expectations!!

Included today is our introduction and details of our claims.