Some teacher aides and trainee teachers in early childhood centres are being paid less than the minimum wage, a survey has found.
The survey by the NZ Educational Institute (NZEI) found that five out of 89 teacher aides and trainee teachers who answered a survey in August were being paid below the minimum wage of $16.50 an hour.
But it shows that the 10 teacher aides who responded to a survey of 1915 early childhood staff earned between $16.00 and $19.07 an hour, with a median wage of $16.63.
The 79 trainee teachers in the survey earned between $15.75 and $22, with a median of $18.
The 639 qualified teachers who responded (excluding principals) earned between $17.00 and $41.35, with a median of $25 an hour.