Andrea Andrews recently presented an open letter at the NZEI Annual Conference about pay equity and what it would mean for her as a person. Here is her letter.

Dear Reader,

My name is Andrea, a Teacher Aide working in a high school. I love my job. I love coming in to work every day to work with my students and my school is a great place to work.

Pay equity is not about that. It is about value. Teacher Aide value, Support Staff value.

A group of us was asked recently what pay equity means for us. Initially my response was Pay Equity would allow my colleagues from around Aotearoa to; feed their kids, heat their homes, and sleep at night without financial worry. How they could maybe give up one of the few jobs they hold to make ends meet. It’s about values.

Then I realised that pay equity goes further than that. Regardless of tertiary education or our life experiences that we bring to this job…this calling…we bring value.

So, to answer “what pay equity means to me”, without negating my earlier thoughts.

Pay Equity means that my whanau, my daughters, but my son as well, know that when they are working at what brings them mana, they know they are valued. 

It means that when our teachers, at all levels of education, have the support they need, they are valued. It means that when I go to work, I know that my colleagues and I are valued for what we contribute. 

Finally, our tamariki and taitamariki, our most vulnerable citizens from early childhood through to year 13, I want them to feel valued - in spite of academic struggles, social and behavioural issues, health needs, English language capability or dealing with complex home lives. That they matter enough that teacher aides and support staff are paid enough to keep working with them, to help them learn, grow, and flourish to become strong, productive members of our society.

It is a values conversation. Teacher Aide and Support Staff value.

Yours sincerely

Andrea Andrews

Teacher Aide