Education frontline needs support now!

The Green Party is keen to support the backbone of the education sector – the school support staff whose work will be celebrated around New Zealand today – achieve a living wage.

Those who work as school support staff include a huge array of often underpaid and under-appreciated workers such as teacher aides, nurses and librarians and sports co-ordinators. These workers allow all students - including those with disabilities and special needs - to participate fully in education.

“Many school support staff work with our neediest and most vulnerable kids and for all their hard work these workers are paid peanuts,” said Green Party Education Spokesperson Catherine Delahunty.

“Last week Anne Tolley, Education Minister was triumphantly announcing the building of a new primary school in Wellington.

“This is good news for that particular community – however the Minister must remember that the human bricks and mortar that hold the education sector together are those working as support staff.”

The vast bulk of those who work in this sector are women – and many of these female workers earn little more than the minimum wage.

Earlier this year State Services Minister Tony Ryall axed two investigations into pay equity. The reason given by the Government was that those who work in the private sector were being squeezed by wage pressure from the state sector.

“In the recent budget the private school sector was given a multi-million dollar top-up of tax-payers money.

“State school support staff - many of whom work for less than $15 dollars an hour need to be given a higher priority than the dubious demands of New Zealand’s elite private school system,” said Ms Delahunty

“It is about time those in the current Government remembered those who work at the frontline of the Education sector and gave them something to really celebrate – such as a living wage.”