Latest news with #NZEI
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Specialist education workers strike nationwide over pay talks
The two-hour strike was co-ordinated by two unions – the Public Service Association (PSA) and NZEI Te Riu Roa – representing different groups of ,inistry staff. Although bargaining separately, both unions say their members are united in frustration over inadequate pay offers and deteriorating working conditions. A parent gives a show of support for striking specialist education workers. Photo / Sarah Curtis The PSA, representing around 1500 members, includes staff working on national education programmes such as reform initiatives and emergency response. Their concerns centre on the ministry's attempt to remove flexible working provisions from their collective agreement and what they describe as a 'miserly' pay offer that fails to keep pace with the cost of living. NZEI Te Riu Roa represents about 800 field staff and service managers, including speech language therapists, early intervention teachers, psychologists, and advisers on deaf children. These workers say they are stretched thin, with children waiting too long for support due to chronic understaffing and excessive overtime. NZEI member Justine Blankenstein said the strike was a last resort. 'We're very sad that it's come to this, and we feel forced into it. Children are sitting on waiting lists for too long, staffing is inadequate, and we're doing too much overtime,' she said. 'We tried to negotiate our collective agreements, but the offer didn't address our issues – there was no new money for most of us.' She also pointed to the May Budget announcement, which allocated funding to some areas of learning support. 'NZEI has calculated that the Government would need to invest $2.5 billion over five years to fix the long-standing issues. The Budget delivered some changes, but it was done by cutting other specialist staff, like resource teachers for literacy and Māori,' Blankenstein said. From Wellington, PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said, 'The ministry is threatening flexible working arrangements by removing explicit commitments in the collective to allow members to work in a way which suits their family circumstances. This is the thin end of the wedge, reflecting this Government's hostility to what are modern workplace practices around the world.' PSA Whangārei delegate Te Wairua Muriwai (left) and NZEI member Justine Blankenstein. Photo / Sarah Curtis A letter distributed to parents ahead of the strike said the action was not taken lightly. 'We are between a rock and a hard place – trying to give tamariki the professional support they need while working under conditions that don't reflect the value of our roles,' the letter read. 'To fix this, we need fair working terms and conditions. This will help attract and retain great people to work with children.' The letter also noted that many families may never need to access specialist support but for those who do, the services are vital. 'Tamariki who need additional support and their whānau are at the centre of everything we do.' Both unions are urging the ministry to return to the bargaining table with better offers. The Ministry of Education has said mediation with NZEI was scheduled for July 31 and August 1, and discussions were continuing with the PSA. 'While we are disappointed that NZEI and PSA have chosen to proceed with industrial action despite initial offers, we remain committed to progressing collective agreements in good faith with the unions.' Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years' experience in journalism, most of which she spent court reporting in Gisborne and on the East Coast
RNZ News
25-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
School support staff reject Ministry of Education pay offer
Teacher aides and support staff have rejected the latest offer. (File photo) Photo: Unpslash/ Laura Rivera Teacher aides and other school support staff belonging to the Educational Institute have rejected a deal that offers them less than half the pay rise they are seeking. The institute, Te Riu Roa (NZEI), said the offer was the third made by the Ministry of Education It said the offer included a pay rise of 60 cents an hour in the first year followed by 15 cents in the second year and 25 cents in the third year. The union said that amounted to a pay rise of four percent over three years for the lowest-paid support staff and about 1.7 percent for the highest-paid. The NZEI said its members were seeking an increase of five percent in the first year followed by 2.5 percent and 2.5 percent, or a total of 10 percent over three years. The ministry's offer also included lump-sum payments of $300 for full-time staff and $250 for part-time staff in the second and third years of the agreement. NZEI support staff rep and teacher aide Ally Kingi said members were angry and fired-up at meetings but were yet to decide what their next step would be. She said there were 28,000 support staff in schools, not all of whom were union members, and most were women earning less than $30,000 a year. Kingi said support staff won a pay equity boost in 2020 with provision for ongoing reviews to ensure they did not lose ground against male-dominated workforces, but had now lost the ability to have those reviews. She said members were angry about that. "I think it's a feeling of a workforce that's felt under-valued and then through winning our pay equity claims we had that real feeling of our work being seen and valued and felt really great. And then sort of to have sunk back down again, people aren't prepared to do that," she said. "It's hitting all of us in the backpocket... most people work just school hours or part of that time because we know schools aren't funded properly to employ us or to support the children that need supporting." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Legal action over changes to resource teaching roles 'possible'
By Rachel Helyer Donaldson of RNZ The country's largest teaching union is considering legal action against the government's decision to cut resource teachers in primary schools, confirmed last month as part of the Budget. Ministry of Education documents from February show that 84 schools employed resource teachers for literacy support, 40 employed resource teachers for Māori and three schools employed both. Nationally, there are a maximum of 121 full-time positions for Resource Teachers of Literacy (RTL) and 53 for Resource Teachers of Māori (RTM). Minister for Education Erica Stanford said that was a small number of teachers for the country's 2000 primary schools, and, during a consultation process in March, schools had told her the current system was "not equitable". Stanford said funding was now in place for 349 structured literacy teachers, who would provide support within classrooms - rather than driving from school to school as was the case under the current system - and she encouraged literacy resource teachers "who are amazingly well-qualified and passionate people" to consider applying for those roles. NZEI national secretary Stephanie Mills said the union was waiting on more information from Stanford about how she came to the decision, and then it would decide next steps. "We've said from the beginning of the consultation process that we will explore all options to keep those resources intact. It's not about getting rid of a certain number of positions, it's a service that's been built up over time." 'Disrespected and gaslit' Mills said NZEI had requested details about how Stanford reached her decision via an official information request. The union had asked to see the consultation document prior to the announcement and was told that would be provided a fortnight in advance, but confirmation the roles would be defunded came as part of the Budget. Teachers felt "really disrespected and gaslit" as a result, she added. "These teachers are some of our most experienced and skilled, and they're not being treated in a good way." Mills said many of the current resource teachers were working in rural places and she feared those schools would no longer get the same support. "It will be quite a different role in the new system. The [same] service won't exist and the jobs won't exist." Mills said it was an "irony" the literacy resource roles were being cut, "when the government wants structured literacy". Meanwhile RTMs were, in many situations, the only frontline support for kaiako and tamariki Māori. "Māori RTs are like a taonga." Not a cut but 'a reinvestment' Stanford said she would not be commenting on what action the resource teachers might take. The move was about schools and students, not the teachers, she said. "It's about the way we deliver the service, and this advice was given to me by the sector itself, by schools saying 'the way the model is being delivered it's not equitable and many schools are missing out' ... The ones who are getting the service may not have the greatest need, so it's very inequitable. "What we are doing is shifting that model to an in-class delivery - small groups, intervention teachers, in school." Stanford said the NZ Resource Teachers Literary Association had had "clear information and met multiple times with ministry officials" and they had been "very clear about the reasons, about the opportunities for them in other roles, and they've met a number of times and they have been given that information". The move was not a cut but a "reinvestment", Stanford insisted. "We've already resourced 349 Tier 2 structured literacy intervention roles, over and above the 100 literacy positions that there currently are, so it is not a cut, it is a reinvestment into a better delivery model."
RNZ News
14-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Legal action over changes to resource teaching roles 'possible'
Education Minister Erica Stanford. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The country's largest teaching union is considering legal action against the government's decision to cut resource teachers in primary schools, confirmed last month as part of the Budget. Ministry of Education documents from February show that 84 schools employed resource teachers for literacy support, 40 employed resource teachers for Māori and three schools employed both. Nationally, there are a maximum of 121 full-time positions for Resource Teachers of Literacy (RTL) and 53 for Resource Teachers of Māori (RTM). Minister for Education Erica Stanford said that was a small number of teachers for the country's 2000 primary schools, and, during a consultation process in March , schools had told her the current system was "not equitable". Stanford said funding was now in place for 349 structured literacy teachers, who would provide support within classrooms - rather than driving from school to school as was the case under the current system - and she encouraged literacy resource teachers "who are amazingly well-qualified and passionate people" to consider applying for those roles. NZEI national secretary Stephanie Mills said the union was waiting on more information from Stanford about how she came to the decision, and then it would decide next steps. "We've said from the beginning of the consultation process that we will explore all options to keep those resources intact. It's not about getting rid of a certain number of positions, it's a service that's been built up over time." Mills said NZEI had requested details about how Stanford reached her decision via an official information request. The union had asked to see the consultation document prior to the announcement and was told that would be provided a fortnight in advance, but confirmation the roles would be defunded came as part of the Budget. Teachers felt "really disrepected and gaslit" as a result, she added. "These teachers are some of our most experienced and skilled, and they're not being treated in a good way." Mills said many of the current resource teachers were working in rural places and she feared those schools would no longer get the same support. "It will be quite a different role in the new system. The [same] service won't exist and the jobs won't exist." Mills said it was an "irony" the literacy resource roles were being cut, "when the government wants structured literacy". Meanwhile RTMs were, in many situations, the only frontline support for kaiako and tamariki Māori. " Māori RTs are like a taonga ." Stanford said she would not be commenting on what action the resource teachers might take. The move was about schools and students, not the teachers, she said. "It's about the way we deliver the service, and this advice was given to me by the sector itself, by schools saying 'the way the model is being delivered it's not equitable and many schools are missing out' ... The ones who are getting the service may not have the greatest need, so it's very inequitable. "What we are doing is shifting that model to an in-class delivery - small groups, intervention teachers, in school." Stanford said the NZ Resource Teachers Literary Association had had "clear information and met multiple times with ministry officials" and they had been "very clear about the reasons, about the opportunities for them in other roles, and they've met a number of times and they have been given that information". The move was not a cut but a "reinvestment", Stanford insisted. "We've already resourced 349 Tier 2 structured literacy intervention roles, over and above the 100 literacy positions that there currently are, so it is not a cut, it is a reinvestment into a better delivery model." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
1News
22-05-2025
- Business
- 1News
Budget 2025: $646 million boost for student learning support
Budget 2025 has delivered a $646 million boost for learning support. Increased support for students with conditions affecting their learning is the issue schools have called for greater government investment in year after year. Education Minister Erica Stanford said today that, across different initiatives, the Budget will provide funding for more than an additional 2 million teacher aide hours per year by 2028. Stand out investments in Budget 2025 include $266 million to extend the Early Intervention Service so Year 1 students can access a range of supports such as speech language therapists and psychologists. The service currently stops when a child turns five. Funding for an additional 560 staff has been provided. The Ongoing Resource Scheme for students with the highest learning needs in the country has received a cash injection, with $122 million in funding to meet growing demand. Funding has historically been restricted, with access to around 1% of students, though the number has been steadily growing. Instead of the set funding model, there will now be increases in funding over the next four years. Students who already qualify are expected to receive additional support such as increased teacher aide hours, and an additional 1700 students are expected to qualify in the next four years. Learning support coordinators will also be supporting all primary and intermediate schools by 2028, with a $192 million investment. The coordinators assess the needs of students and help them access support services. Only one tranche had been rolled out in New Zealand previously, increasing inequity in support among schools. Contingency funding will also be in place for the construction of 25 learning support classrooms at schools and 365 property modifications at existing schools, with a $90 million investment over four years. New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa, the primary teacher's union, recently called for an additional $2.5 billion investment in learning support over five years in a report. Its recommendation for professional development for teacher aides has been answered with $3 million in funding between now and 2028. Primary principals and NZEI have previously called for a teacher aide to be funded for every classroom. Kāhui Ako – which is funding for schools in a geographical area to become a network that collaborates and shares best practice initiatives and guidance – has been cut, with $375 million over four years instead set to be spent on learning support. Resource Teacher: Māori and Resource Teacher: Literacy roles have been cut after the Education Minister proposed this earlier this year. Feedback from the sector on this proposal wasn't released publicly before this funding decision was announced. NZEI, affected teachers, and other education leaders called for funding for these support and specialist roles to continue, saying they helped students learn to read and supported Māori staff to deliver the curriculum and assess student learning. Less money has been spent on Associate Education Minister David Seymour's charter school reintroduction than was set aside in last year's Budget. Around $4 million will be spent in education elsewhere. Apart from the Resource Teacher: Māori roles, the Wharekura Expert Teachers role has also been disestablished. The Māori Education package of $36.1 million has been redirected into other Māori education initiatives such as the curriculum and support for teachers to develop Te Reo Māori skills. A further $36.1 million allocated for 2023 Māori education collective bargaining settlements has been reprioritised. The Budget summary states this contingency funding was overestimated.
