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Strike action

PPTA and NZEI members covered by collective agreements for secondary school and area school teachers are planning strike action between 8–12 May. 

PPTA teacher members covered by the Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement (STCA) and Area School Teachers’ Collective Agreement (ASTCA), and NZEI teacher members covered by the ASTCA are planning to strike during the week of 8-12 May.   

NZEI and PPTA strike action at secondary and area schools will be on different days between 9-11 May (South Island 9 May; Lower North Island 10 May; Upper North Island 11 May). 

Schools with teachers taking part in the strike need to go to the Strike Action screen in EdPay and check and submit the details about which teachers are participating in the strike, and enter the hours usually worked for part-time employees.   

Submit your info within two days of the strike day 

A new drop-down box will appear on the Strike Action screen before each day’s strike. 

Choose the drop-down box with the correct date your teachers are striking, eg 9 May 2023, then check and submit your info within two days of the strike day.  

Please don’t apply for union leave without pay for teachers — use the strike screen instead.   

If a school hasn’t submitted their strike info within two days (of their strike), EPL will submit the info on the school’s behalf. 

Union Collective agreement Strike day Submit your info by:
PPTA, NZEI Area School Teachers' Collective Agreement and Secondary Teachers' Collective Agreement 9 May 2023 5pm, 10 May
PPTA, NZEI As above 10 May 2023 5pm, 11 May
PPTA, NZEI As above 11 May 2023 5pm, 12 May

 

Part-time hours field is now compulsory 

If you have part-time teachers who are striking, please enter the hours they would usually work on the strike day in the Part-time hours usually worked column. You won’t be able to submit the school’s information until you’ve completed this field.  

If, on the day of the strike, the part-time teacher usually... then (hh:mm format)
doesn't work enter 0:00 in the part-time hours column or change their status to No
works from 2pm–3.30pm ie 1.5 hours enter 1.30 in the part-time hours column
works from 9am–12 noon ie 3 hours enter 3:00 in the part-time hours column
works a full day enter 8:00 in the part-time hours column

 

When will teachers’ pay be deducted? 

After the strike screen closes, we will process the information and make deductions for time spent on strike in pay period 5, pay day 30 May. Affected teachers will be sent a letter from the Ministry of Education about this. 


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Instructions for completing the Strike Action screen

!  This page will not auto-save your selections. Print out this list to confirm individual participation, and then enter the information in one session.

1. In EdPay, under My School | Administration go to the Strike Action tab.

2. Click on the drop-down box with the correct date for your school.




The drop-down for the 16 and 29 March strikes will still be on the screen, but this information is available for schools’ records only and cannot be changed in EdPay. 

3. All employees have been defaulted to Yes, under the Participated in Strike column. You will need to change employees to No if they did not participate, and for part-time teachers enter the hours they would usually work on the day of the strike. This is a compulsory field and the school’s details can’t be submitted without hours entered in this column. 

The part-time hours worked field will only show for part-time employees and the submit button will only be enabled when the hours have been entered. 

Employees who are on individual employment agreements will not be listed on the Strike Action screen.  

There may be non-union members on screen and their status will need to be changed to No.  

4. Check you have entered the information for full-time teachers and part-time teachers in EdPay, and sent an EP31 form for any short-term relievers (see Teacher scenarios below for more detail). 



5. Submit your information in EdPay by 5pm on the business day after your strike day.  

These records cannot be edited in EdPay after you submit them. If you need to make changes after submitting, please wait until the SUE report for pay period 5 is available, and then send an EP31 form, with STRIKE in the subject line, for any changes required. 

6. Print, sign and file a hard copy of the strike information for your school’s records, after completing and submitting the information. 

Please do not send the signed version or pdfs to Education Payroll. Strike information must be submitted in EdPay, except for short-term relievers. 

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Teacher scenarios

Full-time teachers – Yes, participating in strike

Full-time teachers who are taking part in the strike, have been defaulted to Yes, so you don’t need to change their status. You will still need to submit your school’s information even if all the teachers listed are participating in the strike. 

! You will still need to submit your school’s information even if all the teachers listed are participating in the strike.

Full-time teachers – No, not participating in strike 

Full-time teachers who are absent for reasons other than the strike, eg sick or on bereavement leave, will need to have their status changed to No, and you will need to book leave for them. 

Part-time teachers – Yes, participating in strike

Part-time teachers who are taking part in the strike, have already been marked as Yes, but you will need to enter the hours they usually work on the day. This is a compulsory field and the school’s details can’t be submitted without hours entered in this column.  

Part-time teacher scenarios

The strike is on a Wednesday and the part-time teacher... Then (hh.mm format)
Doesn't work on a Wednesday Enter 0.00 in the part-time hours column
Works on Wednesday from 2pm–3.30pm ie. 1.5 hours Enter 1.30 in the part-time hours column
Works on Wednesday from 9am–12 noon ie. 3 hours Enter 3.00 in the part-time hours column
Works a full day on Wednesday Enter 8.00 in the part-time hours column


* If a part-time teacher chooses to take part in the strike action but it is not a day they would normally work, you can either enter No in the Participated in strike column or enter “0” in the part-time hours’ column. There will be no deductions from their pay as they were not employed to work on that day.

Part-time teachers – No, not participating in strike

For part-time teachers who are absent on the day for reasons other than the strike, eg sick or on bereavement leave, or the strike day is not a day they would normally work, you will need to change that employee to No, under the Participated in strike column, or enter 0 in the part-time hours column. You will need to book leave for them. 

Short-term relievers – Yes, participating in strike

Short-term relievers are not listed in the Strike Action screen.

So, if you have a short-term reliever scheduled to work at your school on the day of the strike and they are participating in the strike, submit an EP31 form for them.  You will need to include on the EP31 how many hours each reliever was scheduled to work, their MoE number and job number.

Send the EP31 to support@novopay.govt.nz with the subject of: Strike relievers. Multiple employees can be submitted on the same EP31.

Download the form here: EdPay | Forms | EdPay and forms

Do not submit a timesheet for short-term relievers for the hours that they were on strike.

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Frequently asked questions

When do I need to submit my information? 

You have two business days to submit your information: 

Union Collective agreement Strike day Submit your info by:
PPTA Area School Teachers' Collective Agreement and Secondary Teachers' Collective Agreement 8 May 2023 5pm, 9 May
PPTA, NZEI As above 9 May 2023 5pm, 10 May
PPTA, NZEI As above 10 May 2023 5pm, 11 May
PPTA, NZEI As above 11 May 2023 5pm, 12 May
PPTA As above 12 May 2023 5pm, 15 May
 

Do work bans and rostering home for different year levels affect the pay?  

No, the work bans and rostering home for different year levels do not affect the pay, there is nothing to you need to do in EdPay in relation to these. 

Do employees who take part in the strike get paid?

No, their pay will be deducted for their time spent at the strike action.

What if an employee does not want to take part?

If an employee is a union member, they are expected to take part in the strike action that was balloted for. Schools cannot ask union members to come in to work.

What if an employee who is not a union member takes part in the strike action?

The Ministry’s advice is that employees who are not part of PPTA, should not take part in the strike action. If a non-union member, takes part in the strike action, the time should be booked as Leave Without Pay (LWOP). 

What if a member of a union not balloted to strike eg. PPCB or NZPF appears on the Strike Action screen?

If an employee is listed on the Strike Action screen but they are not a member of PPTA, their status should be set to No. If they participate in the strike this should be booked as Leave Without Pay (LWOP).

What if a part-time teacher takes part in the strike action, which is on a day they don’t usually work?

If a part-time teacher takes part in the strike action but it is not a day they would normally work, then you can either enter No next their name in the Strike Action screen or enter 0 in the part-time hours column. There will be no deductions from their pay as they were not employed to work on that day.

What if an employee has been given an exemption from PPTA from participating in the strike due to the impacts of recent weather events?

If an employee has been given an exemption from PPTA from participating in the strike, you will need to set their status to No in the Strike Action screen.

If employees or schools have any questions about exemptions, they need to contact the union.

What do I need to do for the strike action?

Refer to the guidance sent to schools’ boards by the Ministry.

For payroll, you will need to check and submit the information for your employees in the strike action screen in EdPay by 5pm on Thursday 30 March 2023.

What happens if a school did not enter their strike action details into EdPay?

If a school does not submit their strike action details into EdPay, it will default to assuming that all teachers who are union members have taken part in the strike action, and their pay will be deducted accordingly.

What if I want to make changes after I have submitted the information in EdPay?

Please check your employee’s details carefully before submitting the Strike Action screen. Changes cannot be made in EdPay once the details are submitted.

If you need to make changes after submitting, please wait until the SUE report for pay period 2 is available, and then send an EP31 form for any changes required.

When will the deduction for time spent on strike be made from teacher’s pay? 

The strike deduction for the 16 March strike will made in pay period 1, payday on 4 April 2023.  

The strike deduction for the 29 March strike will be made in pay period 2, payday on 18 April 2023.

How is the strike action deduction calculated?

All employees have their annual salary and allowances broken down into an hourly rate over a 40-hour week (annual rate divided by 365 for the daily rate, then divided by eight for the hourly rate).

Full-time teachers who are participating in the strike, will have eight hours’ salary deducted and any allowances due.

Part-time employees who do not hold an allowance who strike for less than (or equal) to their flattened hours can be processed via leave booking. Those that strike for greater than their flattened hours or who hold an allowance will be processed via timesheet.

Leave Booking example:

An employee with an FTE of 40% who normally works for 2 hours on the day of strike will have the following calculation:

Flattened hours = FTE * 8

= 40% * 8

 = 3.2

Normal hours worked = 2 (Normal hours worked less than flattened hours so processed via leave booking)

Leave booking   = Normal hours worked / Flattened Hours

= 2 / 3.2

= 0.625 day booking

Part-time employee strikes for 2 hours

Daily salary 208.079
Hourly rate  26.00993
FTTE 40%
Normal hours worked 2
Normal pay  83.23178 Daily salary * FTE
Strike cost 52.01986 Hourly rate * Hours normally worked
Net pay based on above 31.21192 Normal pay – Strike cost

Timesheet example:


An employee with an FTE of 20% who normally works for 2 hours on the day of strike will have the following calculation:

Flattened hours = FTE * 8

= 20% * 8

 = 1.6

Normal hours worked    = 2 (Strike hours greater than flattened hours so processed via timesheet)

Strike cost = Hourly rate * Normal hours worked

= $21.893 * 2

= $43.787 

This will be processed as the amount on the timesheet with units as -1.

Timesheets will be created for each GL String an employee has – including all their allowances.  If an employee has for example 5 different GL strings across their salary and allowances then there will be 5 timesheet records created to process the Strike and apportion it correctly.

Part-time employee strikes for 2 hours

Daily salary 175.148
Hourly rate  21.8935
FTTE 20%
Normal hours worked 2
Normal pay  35.0296 Daily salary * FTE
Strike cost 43.787 Hourly rate * Hours normally worked
Net pay based on above -8.7574 Normal pay – Strike cost

How will the deduction appear on payslips and SUE reports?

The above deduction methods will be displayed differently within Payslips and SUE reports. These are explained below.

Example 1 – Full-Time Teacher

Full-time employee who participated in the strike is shown below, where the employee does not receive any pay for 16 March.

Payslip example


SUE report employee summary


Example 2 – Part-time teacher where the hours they would have normally worked on the day of the strike are less than their average hours

In the example below, the school specified that the employee would normally have worked 3 hours.

For fortnightly pay purposes the employee has been set up at FTTE of 40%. This equates to 3.2 hours (8 hours * 40%).

Therefore, a partial leave booking will be processed.

Payslip example


SUE report employee summary

SUE report extract in respect of a part-time employee where strike hours are less than average work hours: 


Example 3 – Part-time teacher where the hours they would have normally worked on the day of the strike are greater than average hours

In the example below, the school specified that the employee would normally have worked 5 hours.

For fortnightly pay purposes the employee has been set up at FTTE of 60%. This equates to 4.8 hours (8 hours * 60%).

As the employee’s strike hours are greater than the average hours, a deduction to salary has been processed. Where the employee has Allowances or multiple funding sources, multiple adjustments are required. This results in multiple deductions as below.

Payslip example


The timesheet deductions incorrectly inflates the strike days. This is repeated for each Salary / Allowance / Funding adjustment made.

Please note that the deductions for Strike still remains correct and is calculated as follows:

5 Hours Salary = (90,000 annual salary /365 days) / 8 hours per day * 5 hours Strike = 154.11

5 Hours Allowance = (5,000 Annual value /365 days) / 8 hours per day * 5 hours Strike = 8.56

SUE report employee summary

SUE report extract in respect of a part-time employee where strike Hours are less than average work hours is below.

The multiple adjustments results in the incorrect display of units, even though the $ deduction amount remains correct.

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