we took that approach and cancelled poorly performing schools? There is nothing stopping the Ministry from being more proactive and constructive about giving directions to centres to improve but officials in Wellington worry that without a legal power to do so, they would simply be ignored. I don’t think so. The Pay Parity policy places all this in a pressure cooker. The previous Labour Government implemented the Pay Parity policy in an effort to improve teacher pay. But the policy came with two major defects. First, the Ministry has not been transparent about the extent of the funding gap that exists between the cost of paying teachers the higher rates required in the Pay Parity policy and what the centre will actually get paid through funding. This is most alarmingly called out in the Ministry’s advice to the Minister where they point out that parents will have to pay this. And second, even if the Ministry didn’t have a funding gap that deliberately puts the pressure parents, the correct level of funding for those better teacher salaries can't be achieved by the funding system because everything is worked out on an “average cost” basis. This average cost basis was better than nothing when it was devised in the 1990s but times have changed. Now one centre with highly experienced and qualified teachers who must meet their increased Pay Parity salary should be able to expect appropriate funding to do so. If they are "above-average" that's simply not going to happen. Is the New Zealand's "tall-poppy" syndrome on steroids or just bad policy? How much simply gets wasted paying centres more who don’t need it, much like the situation we have with Wellington Water restricting public supply while maintaining a majorly leaky network. Two ECE centres with otherwise identical costs except higher salary costs in one will be paid at the same rate by the Ministry. ECC remains highly concerned about the Pay Parity policy, because over time it will mean centre closures and our most experienced and qualified teachers missing out – worsening our ECE teacher shortage. Along with challenging this and seeking policy changes to help, ECC has responded by organising webinars for parents to explain the problem. For parents it’s even harder to pinpoint. The most obvious signs are centres closing, new ones not opening and fees increasing. But a centre that operates in an area where parents cannot afford to pay higher fees gets one option – closure. Of course, for some centres the Pay Parity policy is working fine. Just like our children, there is no real “average” centre. But over time, the number of centres where it works will reduce. This is because the policy contains an automatic salary progression clause that means it will become more and more unaffordable all the time. So what is it that I say to journalists who ask me how I have the strength or courage to continue? I remind them that, thankfully, I am not a centre manager and it's my job to represent the challenges our people are facing every day so we can strive to make things better. I say we should stay focused on the positives and try to make things better. March 2024 { 9 }
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