NZEI Te Riu Roa welcomes gov’s education spending sig

NZEI Te Riu Roa has welcomed a statement from Finance Minister Grant Robertson that the Government is set to make “record investments” in education.

The Finance Minister signalled the spending while announcing a $7.5b surplus in the year to June earlier today.

NZEI Te Riu Roa National Secretary Paul Goulter says that while the union has settled large collective agreements across primary, intermediate and area schools this year, there are still significant parts of the education sector that are severely underfunded and in need of government attention.

“Our top priorities are fixing the pay gap in early childhood education, and a pay equity settlement for teacher aides. It’s heartening to hear from Government that they see education spending as a priority.

“Now it’s a matter of us pushing to see that increase in funding as soon as possible so that we can properly value the people working in those areas,” he said.