The Early Childhood Council says allowing ECE teachers to qualify for residency at their original Median Wage level will help reduce the chance of a future teacher supply crisis for ECE providers, and give overseas teachers already working in New Zealand a valuable reward.
After COVID-19, many ECE centres recruited teachers from overseas because there weren’t enough domestic workers available. Now, many of those immigrants have been in New Zealand long enough to start to become eligible to apply for residence.
ECE teachers are on the Green List, but under the current rules, that are soon to be replaced, they’re only eligible to apply for residence if the employer is prepared to pay at least the Median Wage rate of $35 per hour, a level which is above the Pay Parity Scheme in many cases.
ECE providers have been in a double-bind with this immigration requirement. On the one hand, employers wanted to support their employees to seek residence, but they also had to keep up with the Ministry of Education’s Pay Parity Scheme, that contains an unaffordable salary progression clause for teachers. Paying immigrant teachers an even higher pay rate than what was required in the Pay Parity Scheme was confusing, more unaffordable and created pay conditions that effectively disadvantaged New Zealand resident teachers who only had the Pay Parity Scheme.”
“We submitted to Government for changes to the immigration settings to help our members, alongside many others in the ECE sector who also agree,” said ECC CEO Simon Laube.
From 24 August, the new rule should fix the problem by allowing the same Median Wage rate that applied when they entered NZ on a visa to also apply for residence, in some but not all cases.
For example, a teacher who was employed at an old median wage rate may still be eligible to apply for residence at either that old rate, or at an adjusted older rate if it was altered subsequently. Unless you’re a recent migrant, the $35.00 per rate will no longer have to apply.
This will mean that many more ECE teachers already in NZ can become eligible to apply for residency. Without this change, it would mean a large number of those ECE teachers would have to leave NZ when their visas ran out. Avoiding that outcome helps the ECE workforce, supports retention and recognises the contribution these people have made to an essential service in New Zealand.
“This policy change is a significant win for both ECE teachers from overseas and ECE providers,” said Simon Laube.
