Job Discussion Forums

[atatat]

Did we get a salary raise in August?

[once again]

A very controversial subject at the moment. From what I have gathered from the teachers at my school, those who were below the new entry point of 17 points were moved to that level, and those that have pgce/pgde were moved to 19 points. Anybody who was above the new entry levels hasn't seemed to move anywhere but their annual point increase-although I am a little unsure of this. All the point scales were increased by around 5%.

This is the new master pay scale. EDIT> not sure why but the display is a bit odd. The figure on the left is the point, the middle figure is the old salary at that point, and the figure on the right is the new salary. I got the list from the civil service web site.



Master Pay Scale

For Reference Only

Point as at 31.3.2007 w.e.f.1.4.2007
$ $
49 83,105 87,225
48 80,220 84,200
47 77,435 81,275
46 (44B) 74,725 78,430
45 (44A) 72,135 75,715
44 69,615 73,070
43 67,190 70,525
42 64,425 67,620
41 61,765 64,830
40 59,210 62,145

39 56,765 59,580
38 54,255 56,945
37 51,870 54,445
36 (33C) 49,535 51,990
35 (33B) 47,335 49,685
34 (33A) 45,240 47,485
33 43,940 45,970
32 41,965 43,905
31 40,085 41,935
30 38,285 40,055

29 36,575 38,265
28 34,920 36,535
27 33,355 34,895
26 31,860 33,330
25 30,430 31,835
24 29,100 30,445
23 27,790 29,075
22 26,540 27,765
21 25,340 26,510
20 24,135 25,250

19 22,990 24,050
18 21,900 22,910
17 20,865 21,830
16 19,860 20,780
15 18,915 19,790
14 18,010 18,840
13 17,145 17,935
12 16,165 16,910
11 15,215 15,920
10 14,330 14,990

9 13,515 14,140
8 12,690 13,280
7 11,905 12,460
6 11,170 11,690
5 10,505 10,995
4 9,845 10,300
3 9,245 9,675
2 8,675 9,080
1 8,150 8,530
0 7,674 8,030
(When dollars are quoted in this homepage, they are Hong Kong dollars.
About HK$7.8 = US$1.)

[Smoog]

Bit more controversial than what you said, oa.
There are two issues here:

The 4.62% payrise was from April for everyone other (as in NETs at LETs) than NETs who started in August last year. Apparently, according to the EDB they were 'delinked' (wtf?) from the Master Pay Scale (MPS) in April and were 'linked' up again from August 16th. delinked meaning still being paid according to the MPS and still being paid by the EDB and still being a NET under all the contractual obligations but not getting the payrise everyone else got.
So everyone else got a payrise in April, but new NETs didn't see it until August.
Why was that?
afaik, the EDB has never given any reason other than "es ist halt so" ('That is the way it is').
gotta love HK bureaucracy.

The other payrise is even worse for existing NETs. From August 16 onwards, all new teachers (LETs and NETs) will be starting on MPS point 17 (with qual/xp assessment to follow). This is the point that all teachers started on pre-2000. From 2000, it was dropped to point 12 (~$5000HK /month less).
why is this bad for NETs?
Because the increase only affects new teachers. Everyone who started post-2000 will continue being assessed from starting point 12. To make it 'fair', everyone under step 17 was put up to 17 and everyone else put up 1 point.
Thus, using me as an example, someone with 5 years teaching exp (3 in HK as a PNET) with a degree (2 in fact) + a PGDE + TESOL is on step 19 - exactly the same as a person starting now with a PGDE and NO teaching exp.
Someone starting now with exactly same quals and teaching exp as myself would be on step 24 - $6000HK/month more than I'm getting. Simply because they're starting now rather than 3 years previous.
Yup. Very fair.

[once again]

Smoog, thanks for the extra info. When you say that people were put up by one point, is this in addition to the normal rise of one point? I mean, if I work another year, my salary goes up one point on the scale. Is the one point you mention an extra point? Would the pay rise mean that a teacher actually went up two points on the scale instead of just the normal one?

[Horizontal Hero]

What odds more than a few people get put at the wrong level and (for those who get too much) have to pay back the cash later? I hope it's not me. I admit the whole thing has me stumped. I was supposed to get backpay in July, then the rise in point/scale in August. But my pay was the same both months. Why is that? I'm still sorting it out with the office here (as if they know!). They tell me I've gone up 3 points on the scale. Nice!

[palo]

Hello Smoog,

Thank you for the updates reg: salary info.

You mentioned that, "From August 16 onwards, all new teachers (LETs and NETs) will be starting on MPS point 17 (with qual/xp assessment to follow)..."

I was verbally offered a PNET post on Aug 3, 2007. I am still waiting for my contract from EDB and will start working in Oct. However, my prospective colleague in HK, after asking EDB 2 weeks ago, told me that my salary starting point would be at Pt.14 since I've got the PGDE + degrees already instead of Pt.19 as you indicated.

My questions would be: Is the "Aug 16" based on the date I sign the contract?

Also, may I ask where did you get the info of the new salary entry pt(17) from, so that I can refer back to your source when I talk to them again. Is there an official announcement somewhere stating the 5 pts increase?

Thanks for the helpful info!

[/quote]

[Smoog]

sorry about being so tardy with the replies, but I've started at a new school and so have been busy cleaning and sorting.

To OnceAgain, yes the pay point increment on August 16th is in addition to whenever you're due to go up.
Ferinstance, with me my normal increment dat is December 1st.
Thus:
December 2006, I went up to MPS point 18
August 2007, I went up to MPS point 19
December 2007, I'll go up to MPS point 20.

To Palo, the new pay scale terms affect anyone and everyone who is employed after August 16. Employed as in when their contract starts. So you being offered a post on August 3 isn't going to mean you start from step 12.
The school is probably just giving you the old contract out of convience, but don't worry. They'll correct the paypoint when you (yes, it's up to you, not them) show them the error of their ways.

As for my source, it comes from the EDB itself.
I had a friend who started August 16 and was told she'd be on step 14. I rung up William Chu (the guy in the EDB who handles NET salary issues) and he confirmed that all new teachers will be starting step 17. She then called him and he contacted her school and sorted it out.

It's important to talk to William Chu himself if you do have pay issues - the EDB secretary there is hopeless.

I know this will come as a shock to NETs already in the system, but apparently some schools haven't a clue about such trivialing matters as NET pay.

[once again]

Thanks for the response Smoog. I have been given different information about the one point rise though. According to the PTU rep the rise was only one point in total, and not an additional one. I don't however put much store in his advice!! Can you point me to as source where I can check it out. Thanks.

[smadden]

Hey all,

I am in the same situation too. I used to be on point 16 and am now on point 19 as a result of the change to the payscales. I have 3 year's experience. I have a PGCE, which is why I get the 2 points (i.e. from 17 to 19).

Like Smoog, I feel like my teaching experience (albeit 3 years) is worthless in terms of the new payscale. A new recruit to the NET scheme with a PGCE but NO experience will also be on point 19.

Of course we can welcome any pay increase, however, this increase is NOT FAIR. Should I resign and rejoin the NET scheme so that I can get the extra 3,000HKD per month?

Smoog, are you a member of NESTA? I was thinking of making a proposal to them to fight this. Is there any other way we can fight this? The union seems to be a waste of time from what I have heard.

Any thoughts on how we can fight this would be much appreciated!