Pressure from E tū members wins living wage commitment for directly employed school cleaners, caretakers, canteen workers, and ground staff
As you may have heard over the weekend, the Labour Party has confirmed their intention to lift wages for E tū members directly employed in schools to the Living Wage. This announcement came on the back of pressure from E tū not to leave the lowest paid in schools out of their commitment to the Living Wage at schools.
Your E tū bargaining team is in negotiations with MOE officials on December 11 and will be discussing how and when the Living Wage will be delivered, as well as margins recognising skills, qualifications, services, and duties undertaken by caretakers and ground staff.
Another priority in this process will be protections against contracting out of this commitment and potential cuts in hours with added pressure on schools operations budget funding which currently also covers your wages.
We are seeking reasonable compensation for availability for caretakers who have been carrying phones and/or attending call-outs. This is a requirement of a legislative change from 2016 so we will be seeking back pay for members.
We will update you following this meeting, but in the meantime, keep the pressure on making this change happen quickly by asking your fellow cleaners, canteen workers, caretakers, and ground staff, to join with you in E tū! They can join online at etu.nz/join