Circular 2008/03 Settlement of Primary Teachers and Primary Principals' CA

Date: 17 March 2008
Circular Number: 2008/03
Category: Industrial Relations

Settlement of the Primary Teachers and Primary Principals' Collective Agreements

This circular is about: The recent settlement of the Primary Teachers and Primary Principals' Collective Agreements; information on 3R payments and on concurrence for principals.

The action required is: To note the contents of this circular and complete the requirements concerning individual employment agreements if applicable.

It is intended for: Chairpersons of boards of trustees and principals of all state and integrated primary schools.

For further information: Contact the Industrial Relations Unit by email: industrial.relations@minedu.govt.nz All agreements are available on the Ministry's website: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/goto/employmentagreements

Introduction

The Primary Teachers' Collective Agreement (PTCA) was settled on 13 December 2007 and ratified by the members of the NZEI on 29 February 2008. The Primary Principals' Collective Agreement (PPCA) was settled on 21 December 2007 and ratified by the members of the NZEI on 21 February 2008. Both settlements are for a three year term with salary increases and other improvements introduced over the three years. This circular provides a summary of the changes and new provisions. The full collective agreements are available on the Ministry of Education website at: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/goto/employmentagreements.

Primary Teachers' Collective Agreement - Key Features

Lump Sum Payment

The Terms of Settlement included a provision for a lump sum (gross) payment of $750 for members of the NZEI (as at 30 November 2007) and bound by the PTCA. This payment is pro-rated for part-time and short-term relieving teachers. The payment was agreed as part of the settlement between the parties and in recognition of the benefits of the NZEI members covered by this agreement entering into a three year collective agreement. Eligible teachers will receive the lump sum in pay period 1626 (payday 26/03/08). Teachers who are on authorised leave on 30 November 2007 may also be eligible for the lump sum providing they return to their positions on or before 30 June 2008.

Teachers no longer employed will not be eligible for the lump sum payment as they are not still bound by the Primary Teachers' Collective Agreement.

Base Scale Salary Rates and Unit Value

The salary increases agreed in the settlement are as follows:

• A 4% increase to base scale salary rates with effect from 30 November 2007;
• A further 4% increase to base scale salary rates with effect from 2 July 2008; and
• A further 4% increase to base scale salary rates with effect from 1 July 2009.

The value of units will increase from the current rate of $3,500 p.a. to $3,650 p.a. with effect from 4 July 2007. Units will increase further to $3,800 p.a. from 2 July 2008 and to $4,000 p.a. from 1 July 2009.

Additional Units

An additional 10,000 management units will be phased into the primary sector as follows:

• 5000 additional units from 2009
• 5000 additional units from 2010.

Guidelines for allocation of units within a primary school will be developed by the parties in 2008 to ensure that the agreed use of units is guided by and fits with the career pathways discussion and the work in the Longer Term Work Programme. The guidelines will be sent to schools in August.

The new unit formula will be announced in the July Orders in Council. Schools will be notified in the September Staffing Notice.

Base Scale

Base scale table.

Payment of the new salary steps and unit rates has been set down for 26 March 2008. That pay will also include any applicable back pay.

He Tohu Mātauranga

Trained primary teachers who are holders of He Tohu Mātauranga now have two pathways to get to step 14 of the primary teacher base pay scale.

A trained primary teacher who holds He Tohu Mātauranga and who obtains a relevant 120 credit specialist (including specialist teaching) graduate or post graduate qualification at level seven or better on the National Qualifications Framework (with at least 72 credits at level 7) will be entitled to access the Q3+ salary group and step 14 of the primary teacher base pay scale.

A trained primary teacher who holds a He Tohu Mātauranga, with a level 4 pass of the Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori Teacher Sector Māori (TSM) language proficiency examination will be entitled to progress to step 14 of the primary teacher base pay scale.

The Ministry will refund the cost of the exam fee upon passing the exam, on the proviso that the exam was undertaken by the end of 2008.
The offer is extended only to those issued He Tohu Mātauranga by the Ministry of Education and are currently in service.
Attestation of the He Tohu Mātauranga will no longer be offered by Ministry of Education.

Details and application forms will be published on the Ministry website as soon as they are available.

Tutor Teacher Allowance

Designated Tutor Teachers will now be eligible for a $1,000 tutor teacher allowance if they are responsible for a permanently appointed, or long term relieving first year provisionally registered teacher, where the hours worked by the provisionally registered teacher are 0.5 FTTE or greater but less than 0.8 FTTE, where the provisionally registered teacher is receiving the 0.1 FTTE time allowance.

Sign Language Allowance

Up to 50 sign language allowances per annum at the rate equivalent to a unit shall be available to full-time teachers (as defined in clause 1.6.7 of the PTCA) employed at van Asch school and Kelston School for the Deaf, provided that the teacher:

is not an itinerant teacher of the deaf; and
does not receive a unit allocated to itinerating resource teachers of the deaf; and
is required to hold a graduate qualification in Special Education (Hearing Impaired) or any other equivalent qualification specifically focused on teaching of the hearing impaired; and
is employed in a teaching position for which the ability to teach in NZ sign language is a prerequisite.
Only one allowance can be allocated per individual. The 50 allowances are for both schools, not each school.

Paid sabbatical leave

Paid sabbatical leave for primary teachers will be introduced from 2009. Each period of paid sabbatical leave will be of ten weeks duration paid at the rate of the teacher's normal pay. There will be 40 paid sabbatical positions awarded annually from the beginning of term one, 2009 increasing to 50 paid sabbatical positions from the beginning of term one, 2010. Details and application forms are available on the Ministry's website.

Chatham Islands

From 2008 one airfare per annum each (to a maximum value of $2,000) will be made available to four full-time permanent teachers employed in a school on the Chatham Islands for the purposes of professional development. The teacher will become eligible for this on each 12 month anniversary of his/her arrival in the Chathams.

Correspondence School

Teachers at the Correspondence School will now be entitled to the same term breaks as those gazetted for composite schools. Lunch breaks will now be in addition to the normal hours of work.

Process for outstanding matters

A process has been proposed by the Secretary for Education to work with the NZEI Te Riu Roa, in good faith, to try and resolve a number of outstanding matters from the settlement:

• Reliever definition;
• Itinerating teacher travel investigation;
• MITA - address the question of teachers who are eligible to attract the Māori Immersion Teachers' Allowance.

Individual Employment Agreements for Primary Teachers

Teachers not bound by the Collective Agreement will need to sign the new promulgated IEA to access the new terms and conditions of the PTCA, as applicable.

Normally any payments cannot be backdated to prior to the date of signing of an IEA, however any IEA signed before 31 March will be backdated on the following conditions:

• Any notification of a signed IEA for a primary teacher received at the Payroll Service Centre prior to 5pm on 31 March 2008 will have the four percent increase to the base scale salary rates and an increase in the value of units to $3,650 shall be back-dated to 28 January 2008.
• Any notification of a signed IEA for a primary teacher received after 31 March 2008 will not be eligible for this back dating of pay.

A promulgated IEA is available on the Ministry of Education website at: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/goto/employmentagreements. Any questions about the application of IEAs should be directed to a NZSTA representative.

Primary Principals' Collective Agreement - Key Features

Lump Sum Payment

All principals who were NZEI members as at 5pm on 30 November 2007 and are bound by the PPCA at 20 December 2007 shall be entitled to receive a one-off gross payment of $1,000, in recognition of the benefits of a three year collective agreement.

Principals who were NZEI members as at 5pm on 30 November 2007 and are bound by the PPCA at 20 December 2007 and who are on approved leave under Part Seven of the Collective Agreement at the date of settlement shall be entitled to receive the payment on their return to their permanent positions providing that they return on or before 30 June 2008.

A principal who receives a lump sum payment under the PTCA shall not be eligible to receive a lump sum payment under the PPCA.

Remuneration

Primary principals' base salary will increase as follows:

• Four percent effective from 30 November 2007
• Four percent effective from 2 July 2008
• Four percent effective from 1 July 2009.

The supplementary salary formula will increase as follows:

• Four percent effective from 30 November 2007
• Four percent effective from 2 July 2008
• Four percent effective from 1 July 2009.

Decile funding will increase as follows:

• Four percent effective from the start of school year 2008
• Four percent effective from the start of school year 2009
• Four percent effective from the start of school year 2010.

U1 Principals

U1 grade principals will receive a $2,000 increase on base salary (as well as the four percent increase) from 30 November 2007. This means principals of a U1 school are not eligible to receive the Leading Literacy and Numeracy Payment.

The new base scale, supplementary formulas and decile funding rates are printed below:

Base Scale U-grade

Supplementary formula

Decile Funding

Decile 1 or 2 schools:

Decile 3 or 4 schools:

Experience Payment

The principals `additional payment' has been renamed the `experience payment'. The criteria for payment has been expanded and the payment will increase from $2,000 per annum to $3,000 per annum from 28 January 2009, conditional on a review of professional standards for principals being completed by the Ministry, in consultation with the NZEI, by 30 June 2008.

Leading Literacy and Numeracy Payment

From 28 January 2008, U2 and above primary principals shall be entitled to a per annum payment of $2,000 and a per FTTE payment (based on entitlement teachers only) as follows:

These payments are in recognition of the work that principals do to lead, develop and implement programmes to increase literacy and numeracy and to implement the NZ Curriculum and/or Te Reo Maori i roto i Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. A principal who receives this payment shall not be entitled to receive a Leadership in Realising Youth Potential payment as provided for in the Secondary Principals' Collective Agreement. This payment is payable fortnightly.

Paid Sabbatical Leave

The number of paid sabbatical leave positions for primary principals will double to 80 per year from January 2009; and to 100 from January 2010.

Medical Retirement

Medical retirement for primary principals is now available for terminal illness and serious illness. Medical retirement can only be granted when the Secretary for Education grants concurrence. Details and application forms are available on the Ministry website.

First Time Principals

From January 2008 first time principals employed in a U1 to U2 grade primary school shall receive 10 days development release time over an 18 month period to be used for professional learning opportunities required to improve their management and professional learning leadership capability.

Special Residential Principals Allowance

Effective from the start of school year 2008, a principal in the following Special Residential Schools shall receive additional salary of $3,000 per annum:

• Halswell
• Blind and Low Vision Network NZ
• McKenzie
• Waimokoia
• van Asch
• Salisbury
• Kelston
• Westbridge.

This allowance shall apply to a school on the above list for only as long as that school retains and operates its residential function.

Receipt of this payment will not affect the Ministry's response to applications for Ministry concurrence for further additional payments for special residential school principals.

Salary Protection for Change to U-Grade and Decile

From 2008, salary protection for when a principal's U-grade changes increases to 24 months protection (inclusive of the school year in which the new U-grade is confirmed in the 1 March roll).

From 2008, salary protection for when the decile of a principal's school changes increases to 24 months protection (from the first day the change takes effect).

Professional Supervision

A project on professional supervision will be undertaken in the first half of 2008. The purpose of this project is to inform the Ministry, the NZEI and the NZSTA on current practice and identify options for consideration by the Secretary for Education.

Career Pathways for Principals

A principals Long Term Work Programme focussing on career pathways for principals is to be established. It will focus on the exploration of career pathways; principal appointment and opportunities within principalship, to ensure ongoing retention and recruitment of high quality principals in the NZ education system.

Chatham Islands

One airfare per annum each (to a maximum value of $2,000) will be made available to permanently employed principals employed in a school on the Chatham Islands for the purposes of professional development as approved by the Board of Trustees. This will become available on each 12 month anniversary of the employees arrival in the Chathams.

Individual Employment Agreements for Primary Principals

Principals not bound by the Collective Agreement, i.e., primary principals who are not members of the NZEI, will need to sign a new Individual Employment Agreement (IEA) for improvements to pay and conditions. Concurrence is not required where the board and principal agree to the promulgated IEA. Concurrence is required for any proposed variation to the promulgated IEA. IEAs will be effective from the date of signing and cannot be effective earlier than the promulgation (28 January 2008). The Education Service Payroll will be sending the appropriate payroll instructions to schools for completion/authorisation by the Board Chairperson for return to the local Payroll Service Centre.

Normally any payments cannot be backdated to prior to the date of signing of an IEA, however any IEA signed before 31 March will be backdated on the following conditions:

• Any notification of a signed IEA for a primary principal received at the Payroll Service Centre prior to 5pm on 31 March 2008 will have the Leading Literacy and Numeracy Payment and the four percent increase to base U-Grade rates, the staffing funding component and the decile payments backdated to 28 January 2008.
• Any notification of a signed IEA for a primary principal received after 31 March 2008 will not be eligible for this back dating of pay.

A promulgated IEA will be available on the Ministry of Education website at: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/goto/employmentagreements. Any questions about the application of IEAs should be directed to your NZSTA representative.

Concurrence

Following the settlement (and ratification) of a collective agreement, all remuneration or benefits which are additional to those provided in the collective agreement are terminated at the time the new rates in the collective agreement are paid for the first time. New concurrence is required should a board wish to continue to provide additional remuneration or benefit for additional responsibility.

Board members should ensure that they adequately familiarise themselves with the new remuneration rates prior to making a decision on the amount of concurrence that will be requested on behalf of their principal.

Outlined below is the procedure relating to the application of concurrence for principals covered by the Primary Principals' Collective Agreement and the respective promulgated individual employment agreements. The Secretary for Education has the delegated authority from the State Services Commissioner to agree to a board paying a principal remuneration and other benefits that are in addition to the remuneration and benefits specified in the applicable collective agreement or promulgated individual employment agreements based on the Collective Agreement. This delegation has been further delegated to the Industrial Relations Unit.

Purpose of payment

The additional remuneration or benefit can only be for the limited purpose of recognising and compensating the principal for the performance of additional duties or responsibilities that are for the benefit of their school and that are outside the scope of the normal duties and responsibilities of a principal.

An additional remuneration or benefit would not be necessary or appropriate in respect of duties and responsibilities that form the basis for determining the principal's basic salary. Furthermore, any additional remuneration or benefit would not be valid if the purpose is to reimburse the principal for a private expense, such as health insurance.

Application of policy

An agreement between a board of trustees (the employer) and principal (the employee) to provide additional remuneration or benefits is not legal or binding without concurrence from the Industrial Relations Unit (on behalf of the Secretary for Education).

Where a board has determined that the principal is required to undertake responsibilities which are additional to those normally required of a principal, and has agreed and recorded in the board minutes that it wishes to pay additional remuneration, concurrence must be sought before any formal offer is made to the principal. Any additional remuneration is based in the U-Grade component of salary only.

The board should record the additional duties and remuneration (and other relevant terms) in a variation of the principal's employment agreement, to reflect that it is a legally enforceable term of employment in addition to those terms and conditions provided in the Collective Agreement or the promulgated IEA.

The additional remuneration which has received concurrence will be paid on a fortnightly basis with the principal's normal salary.

Concurrence is currently granted for one school year only. If a board wishes to continue making the payment it must seek concurrence from the Ministry for a further defined period.

For those principals not bound by the collective agreement and who are on an IEA, new concurrence is required at the time the offer of the new IEA occurs.

Reasons for additional remuneration or benefits for which concurrence may be given

Some of the reasons that the Ministry would usually consider an acceptable basis for granting concurrence include (but are not restricted to):

• Management of, and responsibility for, a residential/boarding hostel;
• Recruitment and management of large intakes of foreign fee paying students;
• Management of, and responsibility for, a significant initiative that earns extra revenue for the school and is in addition to the principal's normal role;
• Management of a school that is considered an exemplar of practice which results in other schools seeking information and advice on the processes undertaken to achieve and maintain the high levels of practice;
• Management of, and responsibility for, implementing a significant change process.

Reasons for additional remuneration or benefits that would not be considered appropriate for concurrence

• Performance payments in the role of principal;
• Recruitment and retention of the principal;
• The decile level of the school (this is already part of the remuneration formula);
• Personal benefits including; provision of car or private use of board owned car, motor vehicle allowances for transport to and from work, insurances, subsidised housing rental, Koru Club membership where travel is not for school business only, grooming expenses.

 
The Ministry will consider each application on its individual merits within the policy parameters described in this circular.

Procedure for obtaining concurrence

A letter of application for concurrence must be sent by the board to the Ministry of Education Industrial Relations Unit (PO Box 1666, Wellington). All applications must include:

• Detailed information and/or supporting documents that explain the principal's additional responsibilities;
• The specific amount of the additional remuneration or benefit the board is seeking to make; and
• Acknowledgement that the board accepts the liability for the remuneration or benefit and has the financial capacity to make the payment without detriment to its other activities; and
• Acknowledge the board is aware of the current applicable remuneration of the principal.

Where concurrence is sought to provide additional remuneration or benefit to a principal employed on an IEA that provides for different terms and conditions than the promulgated IEA the Ministry must also sight the full draft IEA with the proposed amendments and/or additions prior to the signing of the IEA by the board and principal.

In some cases, the Ministry will request further information from the board before making a decision on whether to grant concurrence.

Retrospective concurrence is not granted for past payments for which concurrence has neither been sought nor granted. Only in exceptional cases will concurrence be backdated, however, it will not be backdated to a previous year.

A letter will be sent from the Ministry confirming that concurrence has either been granted or declined. Where an application is declined, then the Ministry may set out the reasons in the letter. In appropriate cases, depending on the reasons for the decision, the Ministry may invite the board to re-apply at a later date.

Where concurrence is granted, the board will need to provide a copy of the letter granting concurrence to their payroll service centre when advising that the payments are to be made.

ISSUED BY
Name Chris Collins
Title Senior Manager Industrial Relations

National Office
45 - 47 Pipitea Street, Thorndon
P O Box 1666, Wellington, New Zealand
Phone: 0-4-463 8000
Fax: 0-4-463 8001
http://www.minedu.govt.nz