Kia ora e te whānau

Last week the NZPF Executive met for its final meeting of 2020. Top of the agenda was the request from members to consider a principals’ industrial arm.

As the largest principal peak body in New Zealand, NZPF serves only principals. This singular focus means that we can be nimble and energetic around the issues that matter to principals.

Our advocacy on Accord priorities for principals is an example of the energy NZPF has brought to its work this year. The consequence of principals exercising their voice so vigorously on the NZPF road trip was the establishment of the 10 Accord priorities for principal workload and wellbeing. We followed up by pressuring the parties to the Accord to action those priorities. Sixteen months later the parties have now set their priorities in line with your expectations and reported this to you, but we  continue to wait for any positive action.

NZPF will continue to raise these Accord issues because you have asked us to do that. Our barrier to making faster progress is that, unlike our secondary principal colleagues, who are members of SPANZ, we do not have an industrial arm.

Our constitution mandates us to examine the developing needs of NZPF members and to represent and promote their interests.

To this end the NZPF Executive agrees with the call from principals for industrial representation that is by principals, for principals. They confirmed their support to continue work on establishing a principals’ union arm.

If a union arm is achieved, it will enable NZPF to be better joined up in the professional and industrial spheres. The NZPF executive believes that principals will be significantly advantaged by having their own professional peak body able to participate in collective bargaining and able to engage in ongoing industrial advocacy as a matter of right.

We believe it is time to seize this opportunity of significant change for principals.

The job of principalship is increasing in its complexity and demands. Principals are witnessing a tsunami of needs in their schools and an ever-increasing erosion of their working conditions. We must call time on the incremental creep of these pressures, draw a line and say, “Enough is Enough”. NZPF is committed to working for improved conditions for principals and we are not prepared to accept the status quo.

We can do so much better.

The young people and staff in our schools deserve principals who are fresh, energetic, and passionate about their work. Principals deserve to be fairly remunerated and to have relativities protected so that there is an incentive to progress to principalship. Principals are calling for industrial representation that supports their unique role as the ‘employer’s designate’. Timely information and support that enables principals to discharge their responsibilities professionally, is a fundamental right.

Principals should not have to put themselves last because they are too busy looking out for the staff they lead.

I want to thank the representatives of NZEI who have met with representatives of NZPF over the past weeks. We met to discuss the needs of principals and to establish whether there was a satisfactory way forward within the status quo. The conversations were robust and the NZEI representatives offered to include an NZPF voice within NZEI’s Collective Bargaining team.  

At its final meeting of the year, however, the NZPF executive resolved to continue working towards having a place at the bargaining table as a separate entity with its own industrial team and remit from its members. This will require an ongoing, constructive and healthy relationship with NZEI. We are committed to that.

Such a committed relationship exists between SPANZ and PPTA. The terms and conditions of the Secondary Principals’ Collective is significantly advantaged by the collaboration between SPANZ and PPTA in working out together their collective ask of the Ministry of Education within each Collective Bargaining round.  

It is time that primary principals had such rigor in their Collective Bargaining too!

As the year concludes we are now beginning the process of examining our Constitution with a view to adding a principals’ union arm for those members who choose it. Members will be required to ratify such a change. We expect this might be achieved early in 2021. 

We look forward to sharing further details of NZPF Industrial once we have examined the necessary constitutional changes. We will then seek further feedback from you on this exciting new endeavour.

As the year draws to a close, I look forward to sharing with you, next Friday, one final message. I aim to review the work of NZPF over the year and celebrate our achievements in building a stronger, more focused and muscular community of principals.

My very best wishes to you and your teams as you wrap up this extraordinary year!

Ngā manaakitanga

Perry Rush
perry@nzpf.ac.nz