WOMEN TEACHERS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17952, 2 December 1932, Page 5

WOMEN TEACHERS

RETRENCHMENT TERMS NEW SOUTH WALES PLAN The Minister of Education for Now South Wales, Mr Drummond, states that a charge of hypocrisy had been levelled against him in regard to tho dismissal of married women teachers. “I am charged with having skilfully juggled with the word ‘retrench’ in the Act, ’ the Minister said, •‘and thus taken a technical point which will deprive dismissed teachers of any pension rights. This is a gross misrepresentation of the facts. If too Married Women’s Bill had not contained any reference to the terms of dismissal so far as they affect superannuation rights, the dismissed married women would have been entitled merely to a refund of their contributions. By defining the words ‘retirement,’ ‘retrenchment’ and ‘discharge’ in the Married Women’s Act, the Government assured to the women concerned their full superannuation privileges. “The privileges are, in the case of teachers of 10 years’ service or more, a refund of double tho amount of their contributions, and to the women teachers of less than 10 years’ service a refund of contributions; or a pension if the teacher concerned has attained the ago at which her right to retire has accrued. In addition, the Act provides for the payment of the monetary equivalent of any accrued leave of absence, and, in addition to these privileges, the Government has agreed to compensate on a liberal scale the women concerned.”