The Government is being urged to delve into its election year war chest, to improve the pay for teacher aides.

School support staff will take part in paid union meetings from today onwards, to discuss their ongoing collective agreement negotiations.

NZEI said a freeze on school funding has complicated the situation, as schools can't afford pay rises from within their existing budgets.

President Linda Stewart said they need to be covered from an increase in school operations grants, as we can't do without our school support staff.

Stewart said it's time for school support staff to be paid what they deserve.

"I think for a long time the work that's been done by support staff has been out of good will in many cases, because some of them barely above the minimum wage," she said.

"So we need to actually look after these people. We need to make sure that their working conditions and their pay conditions are absolutely as they should be."