Latest news with #payparity
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Seymour changing who decides how much ECE teachers can be paid
David Seymour says the change will help ECE centres stay viable and not pass on costs to parents. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The Associate Education Minister is changing who decides how much new Early Childcare Education (ECE) teachers can be paid, leaving it up to individual centres to determine their starting salary - rather than be set by the government according to the pay parity scheme with primary school teachers. David Seymour says it will help ECE centres stay "viable" and not pass on costs to parents. The education union says the change scraps pay parity rates for new teachers, undermining the scheme which took decades to secure. The Greens are concerned it will drive down wages and Labour says it means new ECE teachers will be at the "whim of their employers". The Ministry of Education website explained from 1 July this year, education and care centres that are part of the pay parity scheme will be able to set the initial salary step for a newly certified teacher or teachers new to the ECE sector. The centres will no longer need to take into account "higher qualification groups, previous relevant work experience, and recognised service". Seymour said under the pay parity regime, to qualify for government funding, EC centres must pay people at certain rates and increase their pay at certain periods as determined by the government. "This is putting enormous funding pressure on the centers. "They can't absorb it anymore, but the parents and the government, who are the funders of early childhood are also under real pressure." He said the change gave a "very light amount of relief," meaning new teachers can start at a pay step "negotiated with their employer like most workers in the economy, instead of one stipulated by the pay parity regime." The pay parity regime in practice, he said, might allow for somebody who had a Master's degree in mathematics to start at a higher pay rate than someone who might be better at working at an ECE, and have more relevant skills. Under the new programme, Seymour said the person with a Master's degree might be negotiated to be paid less initially while they built up their skills, then their pay would increase. "The question is not whether people are recognised for their qualifications, but who recognises them. "I have a strong belief that the people who operate early childhood centers up and down this country, who are there looking the person in the eye, are best placed to judge what their starting pay rates should be." Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi NZEI Te Riu Roa National Executive ECE representative Zane McCarthy said it was "simply another attack on teachers' pay." He said the change will mean new teachers won't need to be paid at a level that recognises their qualifications, skills or experience, leaving it to their employers to decide their beginning pay rate instead. "It fundamentally undermines the pay parity rates we've fought for decades to achieve, and it disconnects a teacher's experience and qualifications from their pay rate." He said it was being "touted as a cost saving for employers" when the change was actually "making up for a lack of government funding". The union said the change will have far-reaching implications in a sector already experiencing a chronic teacher shortage. "This will do nothing to attract people to the profession or retain them. "It shows us how it plans to solve funding in early childhood education - not by investing in our youngest learners, but by cutting teacher pay to make up for the lack of funding provided to centres in the first place." The Greens ECE spokesperson Benjamin Doyle said it was a "kick in the teeth". Doyle said the move would lead to a reduction in wages over time, which would lead to more teachers walking away. "Make no mistake, this is a move by the government to ensure that pay increases for teachers stay low, while cutting costs to employers." Labour also slammed the change, saying new ECE teachers would be at the whim of their employers who will choose what they're paid, regardless of any higher qualifications Labour's ECE spokesperson Jan Tinetti said ECE centres will have a harder time attracting recent graduates, "a devastating blow for a sector already struggling with teacher numbers". "We introduced pay parity to ensure we could build the ECE workforce back up and reduce turnover." Seymour said there's no reason new teachers won't be paid the "going rate", it just won't be set by a "rigid government framework".
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Karl Stefanovic and his Today co-host Sarah Abo's HUGE pay gap exposed in TV Rich List - as Nine's male stars earn over a million dollars more than their female colleagues
Disputes over pay parity in TV Land could be set to erupt again following a bombshell report revealing the salaries of Australian television's brightest stars. The Australian's inaugural TV Rich List report claimed that Nine star Karl Stefanovic is currently being paid an eye-watering $2million more than his Today show co-host Sarah Abo. The report has collated the 35 highest salaries among TV stars on Australia's three commercial networks - Channel Seven, Nine and Network 10. It revealed that Stefanovic, 50, is the highest paid small screen star, bringing home a formidable $2.8million annually, making almost three times as much as Abo, 39. This is in stark contrast to his Today counterpart who comes in at tenth place with a salary of $800,000. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. It was also reported that Stefanovic's salary is almost as much as sitting chief executive Matt Stanton ($1.6 million) and his predecessor Mike Sneesby ($1.5 million) combined. It appears that Nine has the deepest pockets out of the three commercial networks, with six of its stars making the top ten. The Block host Scott Cam trailed close behind Stefanovic on $2.4million, while Lego Masters star Hamish Blake sits third on $2million. The top ten Nine contingent is rounded out by newsreaders Alison Langdon ($1.2million), Peter Overton ($1 million) and Abo. Meanwhile Seven's highest paid star, Gold Logie winner Larry Emdur sits in fourth place at $1.6million, while Sunrise host Natalie Barr came in fifth on $1.3million. Meanwhile, Network Ten did not feature in the top ten at all, with their highest paid star Waleed Aly coming in at number 12 on $700,000. Stefanovic wears a few different caps at Nine, having worked as a reporter on 60 Minutes. He has also filled in for presenters on Nine Radio (formerly Macquarie Media) stations 2GB and 4BC This is also in stark contrast to Aly's Project co-star Sarah Harris, who clocked in at number 24 on $500,000 - $200,000 less than her co-host. While there is quite a considerable gulf in salary between Stefanovic and Abo, the former has been in the Today chair for almost two decades while his co-host joined in 2023. Stefanovic wears a few different caps at Nine, having worked as a reporter on 60 Minutes as well as helming the short-lived series, This Time Next Year. He has also filled in for presenters on Nine Radio (formerly Macquarie Media) stations 2GB and 4BC. Former Network Ten producer Rob McKnight told the publication these eye-watering salaries could soon be a thing of the past with the exception of the breakfast stars. 'The days of big network contracts are long gone,' he told the publication. 'With smaller revenues, TV networks can't afford to have big stars sitting on contracts doing nothing.' 'While there are still some exceptions due to historical deals, performers are more likely to be paid on a per show basis,' he added. 'The exception to this rule is news and breakfast shows. As these shows go all year round, hosts are signed up to multi-year contracts.' Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Nine for comment. It's not the first time discussions about pay parity have popped up around Stefanovic, with his former co-host Lisa Wilkinson leaving the network in 2017 over a reported salary dispute. The Australian had previously reported that Karl was earning at least $2 million a year in a three-year contract, with a potential bonus that could take his salary to $3 million if ratings were hit. Lisa was also was said by the Daily Telegraph to have been on a $1.1 million-a-year contract, with Nine only willing to increase the amount to $1.8million. The amount was claimed to have not been enough for her to stay with the network and she defected to Ten where she co-hosted The Project. Nine CEO Hugh Marks spoke out on the claims, saying he offered Lisa $1.8million, but that she asked for $2.3 million. 'I went to an incredible amount of trouble to build that [$1.8million] package for her. She wanted $2.3million,' he told the publication.
BBC News
08-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Further education lecturer pay offer 'falls short', says union
A pay offer of 5.5% for Further education (FE) lecturers "falls short" of pay parity with is according to the University and College Union (UCU), one of the main unions representing FE lecturers in Northern have been offered a 5.5% rise for 2024/25 and a 3% rise in 2025/ Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said the offer provided "a further step towards parity with teachers".In a statement she said that FE was "a critical part of our economic infrastructure". "The expertise of our further education lecturers is key to supporting people achieve their potential and providing the skills needed for our economy," she statement said that it was hoped the offer would be the two main unions in FE already have a mandate from their members to take strike action over UCU and NASUWT members have previously voted in favour of strike action and action short of the UCU's Northern Ireland official Katharine Clarke said full pay parity with teachers had not been delivered. A potential strike by teachers was averted in April after unions accepted a revised pay offer of 5.5% for 2024/25."Even with this current offer, lecturer pay will remain £2,200 lower per annum than schoolteachers," Ms Clarke told BBC News NI."The offer made by the employers falls short on the promise of achieving pay parity with schoolteachers, a commitment made by the previous Minister for the Economy, Conor Murphy.""The UCU is pleased the employers have reaffirmed their desire to achieving pay parity, but the reality is unless Minister Archibald allocates budgets to colleges enabling them to plug the education pay gap, lecturer salaries will continue to lag behind that of schoolteachers and university lecturers.""Negotiations are ongoing but UCU is clear that the employers' hands have been tied, and the offer represents broken promises at ministerial level."There are six FE colleges in Northern Ireland with more than 63,000 teach a large range of vocational and academic subjects to a wide variety of students, and are a major part of the education system.
