Kindergartens Aotearoa says decades of progress has been reversed as the government’s move to reduce qualified relief and fixed term teachers’ pay to the minimum wage takes effect.

In a move to improve low wages for teachers in some services the government had offered extra funding to those that agreed to pay kindergarten rates but relief teachers, both short and long term, have been dropped from that deal as of today.

Some qualified registered relieving teachers say they are facing pay cuts of up to $8 per hour.

The Early Childhood Council which represents private centres says the change will encourage teachers to return to permanent jobs but Kindergartens Aotearoa says the opposite is the case.

“Employers now have a financial incentive to employ fixed term relievers rather than permanent staff and to profit from the extra taxpayers’ money available.”

“This is the first step to unravelling pay parity which the sector has fought for more than 30 years.” says Amanda Coulston. “It’s a slippery slope to further teacher shortages and short-changing our children.”

The change was made at the request of employers and without any consultation with the teachers affected.

While kindergarten relievers are covered by a collective agreement, most teachers in the early childhood sector don’t have that protection.

Kindergartens Aotearoa represents six regional kindergarten associations around the country that provide some 250 kindergartens, catering for more than 12,000 children each day, stretching from Auckland’s North Shore to South Otago.

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