Swings + Roundabouts Winter 2021

THE REALITY EDUCATION & TRAINING (GRANTS – BUDGET MEASURES) AMENDMENT BILL This bill amends the Education and Training Act 2020 by inserting a new section to ensure that the conditions specified under section 548(5)(a) and purposes specified under section 548(5) (b) may: relate to matters that are, or include, employment conditions; and be specified to help achieve aims that are, or include, employment relations aims that may, but need not, also be specified by the Minister. The Bill was referred to Select Committee and was open for public submissions until 4th June. By the time Swings & Roundabouts is published for June, we will know our fate. OUR CONCERNS: ● Lack of consultation ● Attempt to bind centres to the terms and conditions of a collective employment agreement we are not party to and that is unaffordable at best (no problem with the pay rate if funding accompanies it; but not the other terms and conditions) ● Attempt to unionise our staff ● Removes performance from salary/ wage rate increases, means teachers get pay increases based solely on years of service with no performance factor ● No legislative change is required if the SMS providers add another attestation declaration on the RS7 ● Ministry of Education have previously stated that they see the relationship they have with the ECE sector as “high-trust”. If that is the case, then why would this change be necessary? THE HYPE On the 12th of May 2021, the Minister stated that the pay parity investment was a “major step to pay parity for early learning teachers”. He went on to say: “Pay parity for education and care teachers is a manifesto commitment for Labour and is reflected in the Government’s Early Learning Action Plan. It addresses the obvious pay gap between teachers in early education, childcare centres and their equivalents in kindergartens.” June 2021 { 11 }