Opposition to pay review

Press, 18 November 1981, Page 18

Opposition to pay review

PA Wellington The review into the pay relativities of primary and secondary teachers is opposed by the Post-Primary Teachers’ Association. The review was promised by the Government last month after it rejected the Educational Institute’s claim for restored relativity with secondary teachers. The P.P.T.A. has written to. the Minister of Education (Mr Wellington), to express its strong opposition to the inquiry. Instead of the planned review, the association has called for an inquiry into the relevance of the State Ser- 1 vices Conditions of Employment Act’s pay-fixing procedures and criteria to the education service. P.P.T.A. representatives will meet the Minister on Thursday.

Speaking from his Papakura home yesterday, Mr Wellington said that as far as he was concerned the review would start as planned next month. In his letter to Mr Wellington, the general secretary of the P.P.T.A., Mr Bruce Webster, said the proposed relativity inquiry was a “significant departure from the conciliation and arbitration procedures laid down in the act.” He said that these procedures represented an agreed mechanism for dealing with such issues and the conciliation process in itself was a form of inquiry. If this failed, the act insisted on a more formal inquiry by the Government Service Tribunal, which in . turn had the authority of a commission of inquiry for this task.