Pay equity is talk of the town during Support Staff Week 2020

With the week’s theme of Celebrating the Wins, other Support Staff are taking heart from the long-awaited pay equity settlement for teacher aides, and are hoping that momentum from the settlement with spur on other pay equity claims for administrators, kaiārahi i te Reo, science technicians, librarians and others.

A teacher aide on NZEI’s pay equity negotiation team, Ally Kemplen, says her colleagues are still buzzing about the proposed settlement, which would mean recognition of their skills and responsibilities and pay rises of up to 28%.

The feedback from the webinars has been fantastic. Many teacher aides have been watching and asking questions in groups at school, as they prepare for an online endorsement vote in the coming weeks.

“Support Staff week comes at the perfect time to celebrate this win and the Living Wage boost in last year’s collective agreement settlement, and to anticipate the wins still to come for other support staff in their pay equity claims.

“Teacher aides worked really hard to get this across the line, but our breakthrough is so encouraging to other support staff who are preparing to step up for their own claim processes. There is a lot of work to do, but teacher aides have paved the way for much speedier and more streamlined processes for other groups,” she says.

During Support Staff Week, many schools show their appreciation of these essential staff with morning teas and other events. Resources to support the week are available here.