Hong Kong teachers' union lobbies for preschool pay grade
Early childhood educators plan petition campaign to voice concerns over proposals they say will put more teachers off kindergarten work
Early childhood educators are planning a petition against the government's "lack of commitment" in resuming a pay structure for kindergarten teachers to ensure they are paid according to their skills and experience.
One teachers' union says some preschool teachers earn less than HK$8,000 a month.
Principals say the government's refusal to reinstate a clear pay scale for each level of the job - scrapped in 2007 - would damage the quality of early childhood education and turn away more new and experienced teachers.
The government has in the past month circulated a draft policy for free kindergarten education, which is scheduled to be introduced by 2017, but it does not include a detailed pay scale.
Yung Hau-heung, the Professional Teachers' Union's (PTU) early childhood education spokeswoman and a kindergarten principal, said preschool staff were leaving for other sectors at a rate of 10 per cent per year since the pay structure was scrapped.
Last year, 40 per cent of early childhood education degree graduates did not enter the industry at all, she added. "It's such a shame to see so much young talent being put off the industry," Yung said. "It's also a waste of money in training them."
