Swings + Roundabouts Winter 2021

BACKGROUND The Minister made a pre-Budget announcement that $170m would be further invested in ECE teacher pay parity from 1 January 2022. A small adjustment would be made to teacher pay rates from 1 July (0.15%) to reflect a recent increase in kindergarten teacher pay rates, to keep centres in touch. All teacher pay increases must be passed on to teachers. A 1.2% increase in centre funding from 1 January to offset rising costs. The Minister tabled an amendment to the Education and Training Act on Friday 21st proposing that the government dictates to centres what they can pay their teachers and the terms and conditions. PAY PARITY INCREASE Effective 1 January 2022. Centres can choose to “opt in” or not, depending on their circumstances, and will NOT be penalised for not opting in. The pay parity increase moves ECE teachers from the current attestation pay scale (Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q3+) to the KTCA “P” scale steps 1 to 6 inclusive. If a centre elects NOT to opt in, they continue on the current funding scale and attestation model (ie: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q3+ for teacher wages, and 0-24%, 25-49%, 50-79%, 80-99% and 100% for funding). THE 2021 BUDGET – THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY? June 2021 { 10 }