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Otago Daily Times, Issue 19182, 27 May 1924, Page 5

EQUAL PAY FOK EQUAL WORK. . TO THE EDITOR. Sib, —Mr Tyndall deserves the best thanks of the -women teacheiis in sole-charge schools for his letter in your issue of May 23. lie mentions that theße teachers are obliged to teach needlework in all its branches, wher--as male teachers are exempted from doms go, and yet they get the same salary as, or a. higher salary than the female teachers, -who performs this extra work. I should like to mention a few more duties that sole-charge -women teachers are often expected to perform gratuitously. First among these is the work of \cleaning the school buildinga, on sup.-rvising the children who are sometimes .appointed to act a 3 janitors. Xo young woman who has been decently brought up will attempt to teach in a, dirty building. "Hence, if no competent janitor is appointed, she is obliged to set to and do the work of cleaning before she can begin the duties of a teacher. Even if there is a janitor, a great deal of manual labour still falls to the sole-charfio teacher to perform. The work of chopping sticks, lighting fires, cleaning out fireplaces, cleaning windows, etc., is seldom included in the janitor's programme, and if these things are to bo done at all, the teacher must do them herself. Another duty that falls to the lot of the sole-charge teacher is the car.o of tb© local mail-bag. The work of despatching; and giving out letters greatly interferes with the teacher's own work, but there, again, nc one else can be found to do it. Women teachers in solo-charge schools may sometimes be obliged to cleanse the urinals to prevent an outbreak of disease among the pupils. I can mention at least two teachers who have dono this without receiving any extra remuneration. Again, when the sole-charge female teacher occupies the residence, she keeps everything in good repair and in a state of cleanliness, wheTcas a young man has been known to leave his premises in such an untidy state as to fill with dismay the heart of the young woman who succeeded him in a certain country schooi. I maintain, then, that women teachers in schools of grades I and II perform all the duties of men in similar positions and a great many more duties which only women consider necessary. These women teachers also perform more work tha.n the hea-rt masters in schools of grade M» their salary should be at least equal to that of the grade 111 head masters. Sole-charge teachers should also receive a higher salary than female assistants in city schools who teach, say, Standard IV or Standard V. There is no comparison between the work done by a teacher in a grado II position and that done by an assistant, and yet the latter ranks higher in every respect. The sooner the title "sole teacher" becomes synonymous with that of "head master," the sooner will a <»ross injustice be removed; and the women who have laboured unobtrusively in the backblocks for the best part of their lives will enter into their kingdom.—l am, etc., E. White.