Primary school teachers and principals have reached a proposed settlement in their collective agreement negotiations.

The settlement has secured a 2.75 per cent pay rise from December 1 and a one-off $300 payment.

NZEI union president Frances Nelson said: "It is fair to say that this round of contract negotiations was extremely difficult and there were a number of significant sticking points in trying to secure a fair and reasonable offer for all teachers and principals."

"In the end it was pleasing to finally see an offer from the Ministry which better recognises the value of the work teachers and principals do."

This week around two thousand teachers and principals sent Education Minister Anne Tolley 'invoices' to illustrate the amount of unpaid overtime they work.

NZEI's Frances Guy said teachers know they work incredibly long hours but when they noted it down over a fortnight - including weekend sport and after school meetings - they found they worked 60 to 70-hour weeks.

"We just wanted to show really clearly what that entailed and just how dedicated teachers are to children's education," she said.

For principals the settlement also addressed recruitment and retention problems in small rural schools by providing better practical assistance and incentives.

Teachers and principals will vote on whether to accept the settlement over the next few weeks. NZEI said it would be recommending full ratification.

If accepted the collective agreements will expire mid-2012.

The Ministry of Education's education secretary Karen Sewell congratulated NZEI and Ministry advocates for reaching a settlement.



"I'm delighted that settlement has been reached for each collective, and that the NZEI will recommend ratification to its members," Ms Sewell said.



"Thanks to the hard work and commitment of all the parties involved, the settlements will go out for ratification in the next few weeks."

Education Minister Anne Tolley welcomed the NZEI's announcement and "the calm and common sense way it has reached a proposed settlement with the ministry".



"If ratified by members this is very good news for students, parents and schools," she said.



"I would urge the PPTA to reconsider its position and return to the bargaining table.



"Families have had enough of industrial action, and the PPTA needs to take a realistic approach in tough economic times."