Karl Vasau: Rowandale Primary School Principal on the rejection of the Government's latest pay offer

Primary school principals are doubling down on their call for a better pay offer. 

Principals belonging to the NZEI union have rejected the Government's latest collective agreement offer, including a 4.6% pay rise.  

They say it's substantially inferior to the deal accepted by secondary school principals. 

Principal Karl Vasau, the principal for Rowandale Primary School, told Andrew Dickens they're working hard to get huge changes implemented quickly, and they want acknowledgement.  

He says they're drawing a line in the sand. 

The Public Service Commissioner says he's disappointed the offer hasn't been accepted. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The glow from the secondary teacher's pay deal has VTUS

(00:02):
pretty quickly because now the primary Principles back in the ring.
They've rejected the government's four point six pay rise, a
four point six percent pay rise, and they want what
the secondary principles got, and what they got was a
fifteen thousand dollars curriculum change, a balance. Karl Vasov, the
principal of robin Dale Primary School A Carlvaso, joins me,

(00:22):
right now.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Get the Carl good and how are you today?

Speaker 1 (00:25):
Good? Now, there's going to be some people out there
who get no pay rises at all and think, wow,
four point six was pretty good, So what was wrong
with it?

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yeah? I think what it is saying through is that
we've been fighting for a long time to get recognition
so that we can attract, retain and support principles to
do the best job they can for their communities. And
quite frankly, we've just had enough of just being told
or here this will do, merry Christmas, go away, and
so the principles have drawn the line in the sand

(00:53):
the NCDO Principles that I belong to and just said
that's just not enough to acknowledge the work that we
we do every day.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Okay, so have you got a percent? I bet you won't,
But what sort of percentage would make you happy?

Speaker 2 (01:08):
What we want is we just want acknowledgement that at
the moment we're going through some huge changes and trying
to implement these changes in our communities at a pace
that keeps up.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
So, oh dear, have we dropped off? Carl Vaso? Are
you still with me or not?

Speaker 2 (01:24):
I know our community is best and when you're changing
the curriculums at such a huge rate at a fast pace,
we've got to balance a whole lot of things in
our schools to ensure that it's it's effective, that it
relates to our kids.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
Can I get this?

Speaker 2 (01:38):
It go at whatever rate the government has in their
heads about what we're worth inside our communities, we're worth
a lot, not just monetary, but you know, support wise
all right, you know, community.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
So what we're what we're talking about here not necessarily
is a four point six percent pay rise, but you want,
and your your union says as a crushing load to
change the curriculum and the secondary school Principle has got
a fifteen thousand dollars curriculum change allowance. So if you
just got that, would you walk away happy?

Speaker 2 (02:09):
What I would go away from seeing if that was
on the table is that they've acknowledged the work that
we do as a principle in my community. You know,
I'm focused. I've got a low socio economic community, lots
of community people that struggle to make ends meet. So
for me to continually ask for more and more and more,
it's not a really good reflection sometimes. But what I

(02:31):
am focused on is that whoever comes after me is
equipped with and acknowledged with the right skills and you know,
re enumerated in a way that you know, acknowledges the
work that they do. So fifteen thousand dollars that the
secondary principles got, would you not think that that is
fear that the primary principles get it?

Speaker 1 (02:51):
Well, look it's got a name, and it's a curriculum
change allow and so what would that fifteen thousand dollars
be used for? And would it help you change the
curriculum or not? I mean, I think we're talking at
cross purposes here. You're wanting to be valued, Carl, I
value you. Well, I'm just talking about I'm just talking
about the money that will stop you complaining.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, I don't think we're complaining, Andrew. I think what
it is is that it's an amount of money that
acknowledges that the change that principles are leading in their schools.
And so we've got a new curriculum just like the
secondary principles. They're implementing change to NCA. We're implementing change
to English, structured literacy programs in our school, structured numeracy

(03:31):
programs in our schools, trying to change the way in
which we teach these things. And we're leading schools, you know,
the same size as secondary schools. Secondaries are bigger, no doubt,
but they've got a larger staffing allowance that we don't
get sometimes when you look at the staffing and the
way schools are stuff, you're funded on the size of
the shoe size of your kids.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
All right, Carl, thank you so much for your time.
Canvasso is the principle of Rowandale Primary School. For more
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