NZEI spokesperson Conor Fraser says the union sought an injunction last year to stop the deduction but failed. Photo: RNZ / Quin Tauetau

More than 700 Education Ministry staff who work with disabled children will try to win back the pay they lost during a partial strike last year.

The Educational Institute Te Riu Roa (NZEI) said members working in the ministry's learning support area lost 10 percent of their pay because they refused to take on new cases or work beyond their contracted hours for about three-and-a-half weeks.

NZEI spokesperson Conor Fraser said the union sought an injunction last year to stop the deduction but failed.

She said the penalty did not feel fair.

"It was just such an over-reach by the ministry when we're just trying to look after ourselves and do the best we can in our jobs," she said.

"They were saying we were refusing to do our contracted duties but the reality is for a lot of people working in learning support at the moment we are so far over our capacity and it's not fair when we feel like we're not doing the best in our jobs because we're just over-worked and people are burning out."

Fraser said NZEI would on Monday ask the Employment Court to order full reimbursement of the deducted money so that its members were not out-of-pocket.

"For some people it was a really significant amount… to lose 10 percent of your pay, it just had a real impact and the stress on some people was really unwarranted at a time when we were really trying to be vocal for how much help we need to fix this system so that our kids have a better time in education," she said.

Fraser said the affected staff included speech language therapists, physiotherapists and special education advisors.

She said their refusal to take on new cases allowed NZEI members to focus on the children they were already working with and did not result in members working less than their contracted hours.

Fraser said its members' collective agreement had still not been settled.

The Education Ministry said it was not appropriate to comment on the substance of the case while it was before the court.

However, it said new partial strike provisions provided for deductions to be made from pay, and the Ministry applied the standard 10 percent deduction provided for in the legislation.

NZEI said the hearing was scheduled for four days.

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The legislation - which passed last month - means employers can again deduct workers' wages, including for industrial action that doesn't amount to a full strike.

The 1300 staff include behaviour and communication support workers, psychologists and special education advisers.

The Ministry is proposing a two-year freeze on pay bands, PSA national secretary says.

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