Toitū te Tiriti

In a school or kura we are the people that work alongside teachers and principals doing work that is essential.​​ We support ākonga in the classroom, manage school offices and administration, libraries and science labs, maintain school grounds and much more – our work is made up of many threads.​ ​As a group of workers, we are often undervalued. But we can change this!​ ​Together we are building power to win improvements to our collective agreement – with fair pay, job security and the professional learning and development we need – the essentials!​

The pay equity claim for teachers is currently underway. This is the largest pay equity claim in Aotearoa, covering over 90,000 teachers and principals working in schools, kindergartens and education and care settings. As registered teachers, principals are included in this claim. As teachers we are highly skilled professionals who work creatively, flexibly and with responsibility to our students and whānau. However, our work is often under recognised. Pay equity gives us the opportunity to win corrections to pay and conditions and to feel truly valued for the work we do. Throughout this pay equity claim we are working with the Ministry of Education and early childhood education employer representatives. The claim covers kaiako from early childhood education through to secondary school, so we are also working alongside the PPTA Te Wehengarua.

Early childhood teachers so an incredibly important job. But their pay is up to 52% behind kindergarten and primary with the same skills, qualifications and responsibilities. We believe the government needs to act now to fix the gap.

He nui ngā tamariki o Aotearoa kāore i te whai wāhi ki te mātauranga i te mea he iti noa te tautoko ā-pūtea i te tautoko akoranga. Ko te hua o ngā take pūtea me ngā wā tatari tino roa, he nui ngā tamariki kāore i te whiwhi i te tautoko e tika ana e puāwai ai rātou. Mā te mahi ngātahi, ka taea te uruhi i te kāwanatanga ki te whakapiki i ngā pūtea tautoko kia rongo te tamaiti i te wairua tūhonohono, tautoko, ā, kia whai uara ia i te kura, i tōna whare ako kōhungahunga rānei.

Initial Teacher Education (ITE) plays a vital role in our education system, preparing future teachers with the knowledge and skills they need to begin teaching.

The Pūaotanga Repoet was an independent review of staffing in primary schools which paints a dire picture of our schools.