Wake up Mr Foss and fix teachers' payroll

The Government is in complete denial about the damage done to teachers’ confidence in their pay system by the botched switch to Novopay, says Nanaia Mahuta.

“In Parliament this afternoon, the Associate Education Minister Craig Foss desperately tried to minimise the severity of the on-going pay problems plaguing teachers, support staff, principals and pay clerks.

“Craig Foss could not even tell schools how long it will take to fix Novopay, and the backlog of problems it has caused over the last two months ago.

“The Minister is refusing to take responsibility for this mess – and he is refusing to hold the contractor Talent 2 to account for the myriad of muck-ups and errors Novopay has caused.

“New stories of Novopay problems are emerging all the time.  I’ve been told of one teacher who had child support payments inaccurately assessed and deducted from his pay.  Another teacher returning from maternity leave had her hours and pay calculated incorrectly.

“These issues are just the tip of the ice-berg and the Ministry must at the very least give teachers and principals an assurance that they have a definitive date to fix things.

“The fortnightly pay round for teachers and support staff has now become a stressful time as they wonder whether they will get a full day’s pay for a full day’s work.

“Teachers deserve better from the Government.  They have bills and mortgages to pay, children to clothe and feed.  The last thing they need is more botch ups from the Ministry of Education and the Novopay system.

“The Minister needs to front up and be accountable for the Novopay fiasco.  Craig Foss is responsible for overseeing the delivery of the new payroll system.  He should roll up his sleeves and get it sorted out, so teachers can get on with the job they should be paid to do - helping our children to learn,” says Nanaia Mahuta.