Kua tae te wā - It's time.
We made the message loud and clear - it's time. Time to lead, teach and learn.
This means freeing teachers to teach so every child receives the personal attention they need to learn and thrive. It means freeing principals to focus on leading and it means ensuring we have enough teachers by attracting more people to teaching, by respecting them as professionals and paying them properly.
As we've gone through negotiations for the Primary Teachers' and Principals' Collective Agreements, we've stood together for our students and for an education system that values, attracts and retains the amazing teachers and principals who are entrusted with the education of our children.
Throughout this important campaign it's been crucial that every member has had their say.
On 26 June 2019, primary teachers voted to ratify their settlement.
We didn't get everything we wanted for teachers, but we made substantial progress.
We secured a significant pay increase and pay parity through a unified pay scale across the state schooling sector. We addressed longstanding barriers to pay progression for teachers with different qualifications. We also won eight teacher only days across three years, without the extension of the school year, and a reduction in some of the more burdensome appraisal requirements.
We also got a commitment from government to work on the outstanding issues of wellbeing and workload. This joint accord will enable us to work with the government and hold them to account on these issues.
Disappointed primary principals, however, voted to reject a settlement that was largely unchanged from a previously rejected offer. Principals undertook strike action by disengaging from the Ministry of Education.
On 28 June, teachers in area schools and wharekura voted to ratify a settlement to their collective agreement negotiations.
The settlement comes after area school and wharekura teachers joined their primary and secondary colleagues in the largest education strike in New Zealand history on 29 May, and follows primary teachers voting to ratify their settlement.
On 9 August, primary principals were given a new offer by the Ministry of Education. Principals considered this new offer at paid union meetings from 12-15 August and voted on the offer from 15-19 August.
On 20 August, it was announced that primary and intermediate principals had voted to settle their collective agreement.
Work will now get underway on the accord that accompanied the terms of settlement.
On 3 September, are school principals voted to ratify their settlement.
A significant part of the settlement would see area school principals / tumuaki have access to a new category of sabbatical leave, 'Te Rau Toki', 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.
All teachers and principals in the compulsory schooling sector have now ratified their collective agreements.
Accepted settlements for primary and intermediate teachers and principals
Primary and intermediate teachers and principals have now settled their collective agreements.
Read the review of the Kua tae te Wā campaign.
The problems we're trying to solve are big ones. But we've got a plan to negotiate and campaign for what's needed to make it right.
Survey: Teachers' and Principals' wellbeing 2019
NZEI Te Riu Roa has contracted Deakin University in Victoria to conduct an in-depth survey into the health and wellbeing of every New Zealand teacher and principal. By completing this survey, teachers and principals will be contributing valuable data about the state of hauora in the profession and will contribute to the work on the accord.
Principals' workloads are becoming more and more complex, and with that complexity comes an even greater workload. We've commissioned an ongoing study into principals' health and wellbeing.