31 January 2013

Independent IT investigation needed to fix teachers’ pay

Steven Joyce should acknowledge to stakeholders today that an independent IT investigation is needed to find out if Novopay can be fixed or if a new payroll system for teachers is required, the Green Party said today.

“Steven Joyce is meeting with teacher pay stakeholders today, and they need to see that there is a genuine process for resolving payroll issues,” said Green Party education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty.

“Only an independent IT investigation can give teachers the assurance they need that a functioning payroll system is salvageable from the Novopay disaster.

“Rather than relying on Steven Joyce’s words, teachers need to have confidence that any decisions made regarding Novopay are based on truly independent expert advice.

“If an independent IT investigation finds that Novopay is too far gone to fix, Steven Joyce needs to move quickly to develop a new system that can be relied on to properly pay teachers on time and the correct amount.

“While the Auditor-General has announced she will monitor Novopay, a full investigation from the technical side is also required to ensure Steven Joyce has all the information required to make the right decisions from here on,” Ms Delahunty said.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>