KEY POINTS:

This circular updates you on the processes and timelines for the development of the claims for the negotiation of the Primary Principals’ Collective Agreement (PPCA) this year.
Paid Union Meetings (PUMs) for primary principals are scheduled for June 11-22.

ACTION:

Worksite representatives:

Please pass this circular on to your principal immediately.

Principals:

If you have not been receiving your email copy of the Principal to Principal ezine from NZEI’s PPCA negotiations team leader, Frances Nelson, please notify us of your preferred email contact address urgently.
Look out for the list of principals’ PUMs in early May.

ENQUIRIES:

For further enquiries contact your local NZEI Te Riu Roa field staff officer, NZEI regional office, or NZEI national office.

12 April 2007

Kia ora,

The Primary Principals’ Collective Agreement (PPCA) expires on 30 June.

Principal to Principal ezine

Following the meeting of the principals’ claims development group in January, NZEI has focused its communications with you through term one of this year on emailed ezines. These have been sent under the banner “Principal to Principal” by Frances Nelson, NZEI’s PPCA bargaining team leader. The first of these was also sent out in hard copy as an NZEI Negotiations circular.

If you have not been receiving these ezines, please send your preferred email address to subscribepl@nzei.org.nz .

The second ezine included a “three minute” survey in which we asked principals to confirm their priorities for this year’s negotiations. Thank you to all those principals who responded to the survey and to the more detailed one on the NZEI website.

Priorities

The surveys confirmed that principals agree that this year’s claims should be grouped under four headings. These are

Pay;
Principals’ haoura;
Principals’ professional learning; and
Making the principals’ role “do-able”.

Negotiating Team and Process

The NZEI PPCA negotiating team, listed below, will be meeting on 2-3 May to translate the principles and issues identified in January, and through the surveys, into actual claims. Shortly after this, the draft claims will be sent to you to enable you to consider them before attending the PUMs in June at which a vote on the claims package will be conducted.

The PPCA negotiating team is:

Frances Nelson (team leader) Fairburn School Auckland
Hone Niwa Manukorihi School Taranaki
Nathan Vickerstaff Paparoa School Tai Tokerau
Liz Horgan St Josephs, Otahuhu Auckland
Ian Leckie Tahatai Coast School Bay of Plenty
Jane Culhane Waimataitai School Canterbury
Christine Houia Ashgrove School Canterbury
Max Thompson TKKM o Te Matai Bay of Plenty
Pat Newman Hora Hora School Tai Tokerau

The team will be supported by Neil Hammond (advocate) and Brian Bell (co advocate) from NZEI National Office and John O’Shaughnessy from NZEI’s Central Region Office.

Primary teachers’ meetings and claims

In the meantime, NZEI is convening a round of PUMs for teachers in the period May 7-25. At these meetings teachers will be voting on a package of claims designed around ushering in the new career pathways for teachers. NZEI has been working on these career pathways with the Ministry and NZSTA over the past 2½ years in the Primary Longer Term Work Programme (LTWP).

This package of claims will be sent to all teacher members early in term two in a claims booklet. There will be one such booklet for each member. We will also send one to each principal because the claims and the new career pathways will, we believe, impact positively on principals and schools as well as teachers.

It is also NZEI’s intention to ensure that sensible relativities are maintained and / or restored between the top of the teachers’ pay scale and the U1 rate for primary principals. This is the main reason for delaying the PPCA negotiations until after progress has been made with the primary teachers’ negotiations.

Kia kaha, kia toa, kia manawanui

Neil Hammond
Advocate

For office use:

NZEI Negotiations PPCA 2007/02
Page 2 of 3
To: All Primary Schools
Files: 325.55/430.04