HEADS OF AGREEMENT FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF THE SECONDARY TEACHERS’ COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT
2002-2004
27 AUGUST 2002
The following outlines the key points of agreement in the settlement reached between the PPTA and the Ministry of Education of the Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement 2002-2004.
A: Elements Arising From Panel’s Recommendations on Issues in Dispute
1. Term of the Agreement
The agreement would come into force on 21 August 2002 and expire on 30 June 2004.
2. Salary Increases:
In respect of increases to base salary rates, the parties agree to the following increases:
2% with effect from 11 July 2001;
1.5% with effect from 10 July 2002; and
3% with effect from 9 July 2003.
3. Changes to Salary Scales
With effect from the first pay period after the beginning of the 2003 school year (5 February 2003) the following changes to the salary scales will be introduced for teachers who hold a three-year bachelor degree, four-year honours degree or five-year masters degree or Ph.D. together with a recognised teaching qualification (e.g. Diploma of Teaching). For clarity, teachers who hold a three-year bachelor degree which incorporates (or is deemed to incorporate) a Diploma of Teaching (e.g. B.Ed, B.Tchg), would not be eligible to access the improvements outlined in 3.1 to 3.3 below.
At the time of signing this Heads of Agreement, the issue of the application or non-application of the salary scale improvements to teachers who have G3 equivalence other than those who hold a three-year bachelor degree together with a recognised teaching qualification (e.g. Diploma of Teaching) as described above is unresolved. The parties will meet in good faith to consider and resolve the issue of applicability of the following changes to these groups.
3.1. New entry steps
From 5 February 2003, the entry step for teachers who hold a three-year bachelor degree together with a recognised teaching qualification (e.g. Diploma of Teaching), will be step 7. As a consequence the following entry steps shall also change:
For teachers who hold a four-year honours degree together with a recognised teaching qualification (e.g. Diploma of Teaching) the new entry step shall be step 8.
For teachers who hold a five-year masters degree or Ph.D. together with a recognised teaching qualification (e.g. Diploma of Teaching) the new entry step shall be step 9.
3.2. Consequent Non-service Salary Increment
As a consequence of this higher entry step, all full- and part-time permanent and full- and part-time long-term relieving teachers and fixed term teachers appointed for longer than 2 terms, who on 5 February 2003 hold a three-year bachelor degree, a four-year honours degree or a five-year masters degree or Ph.D. together with a recognised teaching qualification (e.g. Diploma of Teaching) and who are employed on that date (including those teachers who are on approved leave granted under Part 6 of the Collective Agreement) shall receive a non-service salary increment subject to having met the appropriate level of professional standards at their last assessment (provided that this assessment occurred within the previous 12 months).
This increment shall have no effect on a teachers’ anniversary date and he or she remains eligible for a normal salary increment on their next anniversary of service.
This increment shall not apply to teachers who have been appointed on the higher salary steps as a result of 3.1.
3.3. New Step 14
A new step 14 at the top of the base scale shall be introduced with effect from 5 February 2003 and will apply exclusively to teachers who hold a three-year bachelor degree, a four-year honours degree or a five-year masters degree or Ph.D. together with a recognised teaching qualification (e.g. Diploma of Teaching). The step shall initially be at the rate of $54,750 p.a. and shall have the 3% increase applied from 9 July 2003.
The parties agree that the existing clause 4.3.7 in the Secondary Teachers Collective Agreement will be amended to explicitly provide that permanent unit holders, however designated, who hold a three-year bachelor degree, four year honours degree, five-year Masters degree or Ph.D. together with a recognised teaching qualification (e.g. Diploma of Teaching) will progress to the new step 14 in accordance with the progression provisions of the Collective Agreement. Permanent unit holders, however designated, who do not meet this degree and teacher training criterion will remain eligible to progress to step 13 of the base scale irrespective of their qualifications maximum.
4. Increases to Units
The value of units shall increase in accordance with the general increases to salary rates outlined in 2 above. Accordingly the value of a unit shall be $2,805 p.a. from 11 July 2001 increasing to $2,847 p.a. from 10 July 2002. In addition the rate of a unit shall increase to $2,900 p.a. with effect from 5 February 2003 and shall increase further to $3,000 p.a. with effect from 9 July 2003.
B: Elements Arising From Previous Settlements Endorsed by Panel
In addition the parties agree that the following elements which have formed part of previous settlements will be included as part of this settlement on the basis outlined below.
1. Non-Contact Time Provisions
The non-contact time provisions as agreed in the May 2002 settlement (including the coverage of manual training teachers) shall be included as part of the settlement. The policy around non-contact time shall be developed within a reasonable timeframe. Provisional guidelines will be provided to schools by the beginning of term 4 of the 2002 school year. Schools will be expected to have all processes and procedures in place for the start of the 2003 school year.
2. Beginning Teacher Time Allowance
From the beginning of term 4 of the 2002 school year, a 0.1 time allowance shall be provided for full-time beginning teachers in their second year of teaching.
3. High Priority Teacher Supply Allowance (HPTSA)
From the first pay period after the beginning of term 4 of the 2002 school year, the HPTSA allowance will be paid to approximately 460 full-time equivalent teachers in areas identified as experiencing staffing difficulties. The allowance is payable at the rate of $2,500 p.a. to fully registered teachers, $1,500 p.a. to provisionally registered teachers, and subject to the other conditions agreed as part of the May 2002 settlement.
The Ministry advises that the next review of the areas that qualify for the HPTSA will not take place until the 2003 school year. In accordance with the provisions previously agreed a teacher in receipt of the allowance at the time when the school loses HPSTA status will be entitled to continue to receive the allowance until the end of that school year.
4. Increase in the Rate of the Mäori Immersion Teacher Allowance (MITA)
From the first pay period after the beginning of term 4 of the 2002 school year, the rate of the MITA will be increased to the value of 1 unit (refer A4) for fully-registered, eligible teachers.
5. Five Additional Full-time Mäori Teacher Study Awards
For the next round of teacher study awards following ratification, an additional five full-time study awards will be available for teachers who are Mäori.
6. Refreshment Leave
A new provision for unpaid refreshment leave of up to one year for teachers with five or more years’ service subject to the conditions agreed as part of the May 2002 settlement (including notice periods and clarification that a teacher on refreshment leave cannot take up another teaching position in another state or integrated school. This restriction does not preclude a teacher on refreshment leave agreeing to undertake occasional day-relief duties).
7. Removal and Transfer Expenses
Improvements to the removal and transfer expenses provisions of the collective agreement arising from the single provider initiative, and including full participation by teachers relocating to their first permanent position as per the previously agreed wording.
8. Other Changes
In addition to the specific elements outlined in 1-7 above, the parties agree the following elements agreed in previous settlements shall be included as part of this settlement. These include:
8.1. New statement of the parties section;
8.2. Part-time and fixed-term employment provisions;
8.3. Clarification of application of the service increment;
8.4. Changes to the application and rate of the staffing incentive allowance (with effect from the first pay period after the beginning of term 4 of the 2002 school year);
8.5. Other technical changes and corrections as previously agreed.
C: Other Elements Proposed by Government as Part of the Package for Settlement
1. Staffing improvements for 2003
The Government proposes that the package for settlement of this agreement include the implementation in 2003, subject to ratification, of a further two steps of staffing improvements based on the recommendations of the School Staffing Review Group in 2003.
2. Intention on Future Staffing Improvements
The Minister of Education has restated his commitment to the implementation of the remaining steps of staffing improvements based on the recommendations of the Staffing Review Group by the beginning of the 2007 school year at the latest. The Minister will endeavour to have these remaining steps implemented by the beginning of the 2006 school year.
3. Ministerial Taskforce on Secondary Teacher Remuneration
The Government proposes that the terms of settlement of the agreement provide for the establishment of a Ministerial Taskforce on Secondary Teacher Remuneration to examine and report on the impact on remuneration of secondary teacher supply, demand, qualifications, curriculum delivery, workload and other directly related issues. The Taskforce will make its report to the Minister by 31 October 2003 to allow for its recommendations to be considered in the preparation for the next bargaining round.
The parties agree that this document reflects the agreements reached in the settlement of the Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement 2002-2004.
Signed at Wellington on 27 August 2002
Kevin Bunker Chris Collins
General Secretary Senior Manager – Industrial Relations
NZ PPTA Ministry of Education
Click here for Draft Wording for:
Draft wording around non-service increment (MOE)
Draft salary scale reflecting panel’s recommendations (MOE)
Draft wording around non-contact time (PPTA)
Draft wording around the purpose and purview of the Ministerial Taskforce (MOE)