Pay deal no fix for recruitment woes

Media Release
5 Nov 2007

Pay deal no fix for recruitment woes

Secondary teachers have voted to ratify a collective agreement that will give them 4% over the next three years (12.5% in total), PPTA president Robin Duff announced today.

In addition, he said, the settlement provides for increases to various allowances and to management units, and additional support for teachers’ professional learning.

“Members are pleased that the value of their salaries will be maintained and see benefits in a further three years of industrial calm,” he said.

But Mr Duff warned that the settlement is unlikely to ease the serious retention and recruitment problems that will face secondary schools by 2010.

“The market for secondary teachers is much tighter and more specialised market than for primary teachers, especially when it comes to recruiting specialists from areas such as engineering, food technology, mathematics and science,” he said.

“The government’s commitment to automatically passing on the pay rates won by secondary teachers to primary teachers means it simply can’t offer salaries that can attract – and keep – the highly skilled staff our secondary system demands.

“As long as the government insists on a rigid pay entrenchment policy, this problem will not go away.”

The secondary settlement will cost the government approximately $300 million, but the actual cost rises to at least $900 million because of the automatic flow-on to primary teachers.

“Entrenchment does not allow the PPTA to tailor a settlement that can fully meet the unique needs of secondary schools, teachers and students,” Mr Duff said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media