Teachers’ rises to be paid

Press, 24 October 1978, Page 19

Teachers’ rises to be paid

PA Wellington. Post-primary teachers’ Increased salaries, which have been held up while their association tried to win similar pay rises for other members not included in the last settlement, will now be paid. The payment, authorised by the Department of Education which was willing to process the increases months ago, effectively breaks the settlement stalemate which arose over the pay increase rights of a small group of teachers’ with broken service.

The Post-Primary Teachers’ Association refused to accept the June agreement because of the exclusion of non-graduate teachers who joined the service before 1971, and at some stage broke off their service for more than two

years, but the P.P.T.A. had no option.

The president (Mr P. B. Andrews) acknowledged that the department could no longer delay payment to those groups of teachers whose rights were not in dispute, but emphasised that the P.P.T.A. would “still take issue” on the broken service point. The department has issued a circular authorising payment of the June increases.

Commenting on the circular’s timing, the assistant secretary of administration (Mr P. Munn) said he had noted public comment had attributed delays to the department. “I would like to make it quite clear that the department was ready to issue a circular authorising payment of all the agreed matters in the middle of July,” said Mr Munn.