Spotlight on ECE pay gaps

Otago early childhood teachers and their supporters came out in force on Saturday for a day of action to draw attention to ongoing pay inequalities for early childhood education (ECE) teachers.

The Dunedin event was one of 18 national events organised by NZEI Te Riu Roa, New Zealand’s largest education union.

Speakers at the Octagon rally included NZEI national leadership representatives, Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins and Dunedin Green Party representative Alan Somerville.

Otago NZEI lead organiser Paula Reynolds said 50 people had registered for the event online, but numbers on the day exceeded expectations.

"We’ve had a really good turnout today," she said.

"We’re really excited that teachers and their families have joined us, both in person and online."

Qualified early childhood teachers were paid up to 52% less than their kindergarten colleagues for performing the same job with the same qualifications, she said.

The lack of funding in the sector had also led to a teacher shortage, teachers leaving early childhood centres and very low numbers of people going into ECE teacher training.

“We’re really calling on the Government to deliver pay parity for all teachers in the next Budget."

courtney.white@odt.co.nz