In the past, sympathetic teachers enjoyed pay equity with their primary school colleagues, but as the latter have recently achieved parity with secondary school teachers, those who worked in kindergartens have been abandoned. Childminders voted in favour of a new agreement that puts their pay on an equal footing with primary and secondary school teachers. “We are very pleased that childminders have secured a pay raise and maintained pay equity with primary and secondary school teachers,” said Virginia Oakly, NZEI negotiator. If you would like a printed copy of this agreement, we recommend that you download the following PDF version. However, the collective agreement for childminders stipulates that the changes that apply to primary school teachers in public and state-integrated schools would result in notification, consultation and an offer by amending the agreement for equal pay educators in the month in which these changes occurred. It is likely that the delay in the acceptance of the government`s offer by primary school teachers has delayed the process of childminders. While childminders now have pay equity with primary and secondary school teachers, their negotiations have highlighted wage problems across the sector. Education Ministry spokeswoman Ellen MacGregor-Reid said the ministry welcomed the childminders` vote to regulate their collective agreement. The NZEIs negotiate with the Ministry of Education on behalf of childminders, but they account for only about 12.5% of employment in the early childhood education (EEC) sector. “Now that primary school teachers have ensured parity with their secondary colleagues, we will try to ensure the same deal for childminders through a single salary scale,” she said.

READ MORE: * Childminders vote on new wage offer * “Teachers are teachers”: Educators demand pay equity * Government childminders then negotiate collective agreements for NZEI te Riu Roa member childminders are subject to the Collective Agreement for Childminders, School Heads and Chief Teachers 2019 – 2022 (KTCA). Teachers who are not covered by the collective agreement will be covered by an individual employment contract (IEA). The Ministry of National Education said it welcomes the vote that took place online on Thursday evening, after four days of negotiations between the Ministry of Education, the NZEI and the employers of the kindergarten. The union said the ministry left teachers “frustrated” after delaying discussions on the collective bargaining process. They recently wrote to the Minister of Education asking for this to move forward. NZEI Te Riu Roa`s childminders voted overwhelmingly in favor of regulating their collective agreement, which maintains pay equity with their primary and secondary colleagues. According to the sector`s latest collective agreement, newly qualified teachers who start early childhood education will receive $45,491 – $51,358 by 2021. .