Teachers' strike: Hundreds of millions of dollars at stake

Teachers marched up Queen St against charter schools in 2013, above. This week they are marching to support claims worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Photo / File

Hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake in the claims by the primary teachers' union, the NZ Educational Institute, which is going on strike for only the fourth time in 135 years.

Pay implications

NZEI claims

1. A 16 per cent increase over two years, lifting beginner teachers from $49,588 to $57,522 and teachers with seven-plus years' experience from $75,949 to $88,100 by 2019. Cost: $296m a year (NZEI/MoE agree).

2. Remove salary caps that keep teachers with less than a degree plus a teaching qualification below the top rate for teachers with those qualifications. Not costed.

3. Lift principals' salaries in schools with below 100 students to the rate of schools with 100-150 students. Cost: $7m a year (NZEI).

4. Fully recognise teachers with te reo Māori and tikanga or working in Pasifika languages. Not costed.

5. Recognise expertise in special education, then move to focus on curriculum specialisation. Not costed.

Ministry of Education offers

1. Lift beginner teachers with subject degrees by $7050 (14.2 per cent) over three years to $56,638; lift teachers with 7-plus years' experience by $4650 (6.1 per cent) over three years to $80,599 by 2020. Cost: $150m a year (Herald estimate).

2. Standardise salaries for beginner teachers with a degree or less, reflecting the fact that all new teachers now need degrees. Not costed publicly.

3. Lift principals' salaries over three years by between 9.5 per cent and 11 per cent in schools with less than 150 students, between 6.6 per cent and 7.6 per cent in schools with 150-675 students, and between 6 per cent and 6.3 per cent in larger schools. Not costed publicly.

4. Continue to work on a career framework.

Staffing implications

NZEI claims

1. Reduce teacher:student ratio in Years 4-8 from 1:29 to 1:25. Cost: $110m a year (NZEI).

2. Increase professional leadership staffing. Cost: $73m a year (NZEI).

3. Fund Special Needs Co-ordinators (Sencos). Cost: about $108m a year (NZEI).

4. More resource teachers of learning and behaviour and literacy. Not costed.

5. Minimum of two full-time equivalent staff in the smallest schools. Cost: $7m a year (NZEI).

6. Increase teachers' classroom release time from 10 to 20 hours a term. Not costed.

7. More teacher resourcing for each class so teachers can complete assessments etc. Not costed.

MoE costing for all NZEI claims, except 16 per cent pay rise: $291m a year.

Ministry of Education offers

1. Increase teachers' classroom release time to 12 hours a term. Not costed publicly.

2. Expand circumstances in which a teacher can be designated a mentor teacher working with beginner teachers. Not costed publicly.

3. Introduce classroom release time of 10 hours a term for principals in schools of up to 150 students. Not costed publicly.

4. Make the pay system more transparent and easier to understand by rolling base leadership payments, career payments and others into one scale. Not costed publicly.

5. Work with NZEI and others on an education workforce strategy.