4 February 2000
Funding available to all Primary school principals

Primary school principals who are covered by a collective employment contract will be eligible for a supplementary funding entitlement currently only available to boards of schools whose principals are on individual employment contracts.

Education Minister Trevor Mallard said Cabinet approved to the change this week and agreement has since been reached with the NZEI over the provision of a supplementary funding entitlement for all primary school principals.

Trevor Mallard said the NZEI has agreed to a variation of the primary principals’ CEC to incorporate the extra funding into the collective employment contract. The NZEI is taking the agreement to its primary principal members next week for ratification.

In a further move, the coverage of the primary principals’ collective contract has been extended to be available to all primary school principals. Up until now, the collective coverage has been available only to the primary principals of schools with rolls of up to 300 students and principals of larger primary schools were all on individual contracts.

School boards of trustees will receive detailed information, including implementation processes, from the Ministry of Education next week.

Trevor Mallard said this week’s agreement reached with the NZEI to extend coverage of the contract and to deliver the same pay to CEC principals that was available to their IEC colleagues under the previous Government, was a milestone.

“The National Party approach was to effectively bribe principals by offering bonuses to leave the collective agreement. We have put a stop to that.

“It’s the Government’s first opportunity, within the public sector, to demonstrate our commitment to collective bargaining and I am pleased we have made such rapid progress,” Trevor Mallard said.

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Further contact:
Moerangi Vercoe (Press Secretary) 04 471 9080 or 025 270 9194

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