Mrs BRAHAM - 2001-05-31
Minister, as you know, under the EBA, primary teachers are entitled to two hours per week for non-contact time and schools receive an allocation to employ relief teachers for this non-contact promise. There is an agreement that schools will be responsible for paying the salaries of the relief teachers they employ for this purpose, and it is great. For years primary teachers have wanted non-contact time but there seems to be a bit of a dilemma. Minister, I wonder if in this year’s budget you have addressed the problem that bush schools face. They have to pay the T/A and the kilometre allowance of any teacher who travels for that non-contact time. I am not talking about relief teachers for sick purposes, that is covered. But the promise in the EBA is that it would be fully funded. There is obviously not a teacher out bush who can come in two hours a week for a teacher so they accumulate their time and get a block and then they bring a teacher out ...
A member interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Could the member get on with the question? There is a long explanation here.
Mrs BRAHAM: Yes. They bring the teacher out of town, but they are slugged with the additional cost of T/A and kilometre allowance and they have to find that out of general funds. Has he addressed that in this budget where bush schools can get a top up for the payment of those two additional costs related to providing non-contact time for their teachers?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am not aware of the detail in there. If it is the subject of an EBA it is not appropriately discussed in here but should be referred to the Office of the Public Service Commissioner. However, I will do some research into that aspect and I will take the question on notice.
A member interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Could the member get on with the question? There is a long explanation here.
Mrs BRAHAM: Yes. They bring the teacher out of town, but they are slugged with the additional cost of T/A and kilometre allowance and they have to find that out of general funds. Has he addressed that in this budget where bush schools can get a top up for the payment of those two additional costs related to providing non-contact time for their teachers?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am not aware of the detail in there. If it is the subject of an EBA it is not appropriately discussed in here but should be referred to the Office of the Public Service Commissioner. However, I will do some research into that aspect and I will take the question on notice.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016