29 August 2002 Media Statement

Minister welcomes decision

Education Minister Trevor Mallard welcomed the settlement today of the secondary teachers’ collective agreement.

“This marks the end of lengthy negotiation and we can now return to a settled environment in our schools.

“Students, parents, teachers and the government can look forward and focus on a positive future for teaching and learning at the secondary level,” Trevor Mallard said.

The settlement is based on the recommendations of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) panel set up in July after negotiations reached an impasse. It is a significantly larger investment than the government had anticipated and is a different shape from the two previous settlements agreed with the PPTA executive.

“The settlement targets recruitment and retention of quality teachers as the key issue facing the secondary school sector.

“These are also issues which we are looking to address with a number of initiatives and we believe that the reshaping of the salary scale as recommended by the panel will help attract and retain quality secondary teachers.”

Trevor Mallard said no decisions had been made on how to finance the package.

“It will mean tightening our belt elsewhere, particularly in the out years, but that is an issue we will address as part of next year’s Budget process.”

ENDS

Attached

Key elements of the settlement

Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement Settlement
Key Elements

 Base salary increases of 2% with effect from 11 July 2001, an additional 1.5% with effect from 10 July 2002, and an additional 3% with effect from 9 July 2003.

 Increases in the value of units to $2,805 from 11 July 2001, $2,847 from 10 July 2002, $2,900 from 5 February 2003 and $3,000 from 9 July 2003.

 A higher entry point for a person entering the service with a 3-year Bachelor degree, a 4-year Honours degree or a 5-year Masters degree or Ph.D. together with a recognised teaching qualification (e.g. a Diploma of Teaching).

 Teachers who are currently on Step 6 or above, and hold a 3-year Bachelor degree, a 4-year Honours degree or a 5-year Masters degree or Ph.D. together with a recognised teaching qualification (e.g. a Diploma of Teaching), will increment one step on 5 February 2003 in addition to the usual increment on their anniversary of service.

 From 5 February 2003, a new step 14 at $54,750 for teachers with a 3-year Bachelor degree, a 4-year Honours degree or a 5-year Masters degree or Ph.D. together with a recognised teaching qualification (e.g. a Diploma of Teaching).

 An expiry date of 30 June 2004.

 An entitlement of 3 non-contact hours per week from 2003, increasing to 4 non-contact hours per week from 2004. Schools will endeavour to provide 5 non-contact hours per week from 2005.

 An additional 2½ hours per week release time for 2nd year beginning teachers.

 A High Priority Teacher Supply Allowance of $2,500 per annum ($1,500 per annum for provisionally registered teachers), payable to approximately 460 secondary teachers in schools in areas identified as experiencing the greatest staffing difficulties.

 The introduction of 2 steps of staffing improvements, providing 375 additional secondary teachers for the 2003 school year.

 A commitment from Government to implement staffing improvements based on the recommendations of the School Staffing Review Group by the beginning of the 2007 school year and endeavour to implement them by the beginning of the 2006 school year.

 The establishment of the Ministerial Taskforce on Secondary Teacher Remuneration.

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