SLANZA, NZEI and Pay Equity

Tēnā koutou 

SLANZA National Executive wish to reassure our members that we are committed to and have been in discussions with NZEI Te Riu Roa regarding Support Staff Pay Equity progress.  


Some of you may recall from our communiques that we gathered a comprehensive database of skills, roles and responsibilities from a Pay Equity Professional Development course run in 2018, that was shared with NZEI to assist our cause. Later that year at our NE meeting in Wellington, we invited two NZEI Pay Equity lawyers as well as two regional union representatives to inform us of the process of the Pay Equity claims and what we were to expect. We learnt that achieving pay equity with similar non-female dominant professions would not be a quick or simple task, as we have witnessed with the Teacher Aide negotiations, which took four years. We also learnt that the Teacher Aide pay equity claim was progressed first by NZEI as they were the largest group of support staff and were some of the lowest-paid. Discussions with NZEI have been ongoing and union members would have continued to receive updates throughout the negotiations to inform us of the pay equity process and progress.  


NZEI is currently working on progressing other support staff role pay equity claims including school librarians and library assistants. They hope that the time and resources used, as well as what they learnt and what they won, may expedite the other support staff claims. Next up is the Administration Staff, and our own claim follows that. 
 
We wish to state that NE have felt understood and well supported as a profession with the work NZEI are undertaking on our behalf. We want to ensure that our members are aware of how hard people are working for them. Joining the NZEI, is a show of understanding, appreciation and support for the mahi being done on our behalf, and the bigger the membership, the stronger the voice.  


SLANZA National Executive are delighted for our Teacher Aide work colleagues. Their win is another step closer to our own successful Pay Equity process. As we await our turn, we ask our members to show kindness and solidarity to our fellow workers.   


NZEI offer this advice to our members:  

1. campaigning is important – the actions Teacher Aides took at the end of 2019 on social media and at the school gate was what forced the Ministry into negotiations when NZEI were stalled.   
2. Librarian versus Teacher Aide role – if you are designated a Librarian or Library Assistant and on looking at the Teacher Aide pay equity matrix you think that your job role is actually TA then you should compare your job description to the matrix, identify how your role fits the descriptors and then approach your principal or SENCO to rename your role.  
3. Librarian role – if you are designated as a Librarian or Library Assistant, hang in there as there will be a pay equity claim coming for your role. NZEI will be calling on librarians in schools nationwide to work with them around developing the pay equity claim. Meanwhile, ensure you keep your job descriptions up to date and that your role is graded appropriately for the work that you do under the current grading in the 2019 -2022 Collective. 

Ngā mihi nui 
Julia 


Julia Smith BAppSci (LIS)
Librarian
Kerikeri High School

SLANZA National Executive Communications

SLANZA National Executive rep for Te Tai Tokerau