New primary collective agreement a win for Te Reo teachers

New primary collective agreement a win for Te Reo teachers

30 June 2016

Primary teachers have voted to ratify a new collective agreement which includes an increased allowance for Maori immersion teachers and paid release time for teachers taking groups to Te Mana Kuratahi and Polyfest.

All teachers will receive a two per cent pay increase in line with the rest of the sector, and teachers who work in level one Te Reo immersion settings will also receive an additional $2000 per annum after three years continuous service. This increases to $4000 per annum after six years of continuous service.

Thirty teacher relief days will be made available annually for teachers to attend Polyfest to support students participating in the festival. Another 140 teacher relief days will be made available biennially for teachers to attend Te Mana Kuratahi (the National Primary Kapa Haka Competition), to support students participating in the competition.

NZEI Te Riu Roa President Louise Green said the settlement was a positive recognition of the high value of Te Reo kaiako.

“We have to negotiate hard with the Ministry of Education for every gain in the collective agreement, and we are proud of achieving this small but significant breakthrough for teachers of Te Reo and those who train and support kapa haka and Polyfest performing groups,” she said.

The new agreement also includes a one-off one-day provision of teacher release time for the 2017 school year. It will support teachers with assessment and strengthening their knowledge of learning progressions . NZEI sees this is an acknowledgment of increased teacher workload and data/assessment analysis.

ENDS

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