Area school principals settle on Ministry offer

All teachers and principals in the compulsory schooling sector have now ratified their collective agreements.

Principals and tumuaki in area schools and wharekura who are jointly represented by NZEI Te Riu Roa and PPTA Te Wehengarua have voted to ratify a settlement to their collective agreement.

A significant part of the settlement would see area school principals / tumuaki have access to a new category of sabbatical leave, ‘Te Rau Titoki’, which is designed to give principals time to focus on undertaking community responsibilities, outside of leading their school, that are integral to their principal role.

There are 136 area schools and wharekura in New Zealand.

What’s in the settlement for Area School principals?

• The merging of U1 and U2 rates of pay which will give U1 principals an increase in the roll-based component of their remuneration of 12.5% from 20 August 2019. For U2-U16 principals, their roll-based remuneration would increase by 3%. In addition to this the staffing-based component (TTS) will increase by 3%
• For the remainder of the term, an increase of 3% in 2020 and a further increase of 3% 2021 would be applied to roll-based component and to the staffing-based component (TTS).
• An increase to the base rate of the Area School Principals’ Payment
• A lump sum payment of $500 for union members.
• In 2022 the overall number of sabbaticals would increase from 10 to 13.
• Area school principals will be included as part of the accord between NZEI Te Riu Roa, PPTA Te Wehengarua and the Ministry of Education.
• The term will be 3 years from 6 September 2019 to 5 September 2022.
Read the full terms of settlement here.