New Zealand Educational Institute

History

The NZEI was founded by a merger of district institutes of teachers in 1883 at a meeting in Christchurch. Under the leadership of Frank Livingstone Combs and others, it became the nationwide voice of primary school teachers. Since the 1994 merger with the Combined Early Childhood Union of Aotearoa (CECUA) it has also represented teachers in early childhood centres. Since the major New Zealand employment law changes in the 1980s and 1990s, the NZEI negotiates the more than twenty collective agreements across the two sectors, including principals, teachers, support staff, te reo Maori immersion staff and Ministerial staff.

In late July 2025, the NZEI sought a judicial review at the Wellington High Court of the New Zealand Government's decision to reduce funding for literacy and Māori resource teachers during the 2025 New Zealand budget, which was released in May 2025.

Early childhood education

Due to the relatively fragmented history and nature of early childhood education in New Zealand, the largest number of collective agreements negotiated by the NZEI are in this sector.

Primary schools

Primary staff and principals are on separate collective agreements, with separate agreements for area (rural) staff and principals, but these are negotiated together.

Strikes

The NZEI has struck four times since it was founded in 1883.

In 1991 members struck (unsuccessfully) as part of wider industrial and union action against the Employment Contracts Act 1991, which lead to significant changes in New Zealand employment relations.

Members struck in 1994 and 1995 to successfully achieve pay parity with the Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA), their colleagues in secondary schooling. This related pay scales to the teachers' qualifications.

Members struck in 2018 as part of the negotiation round with the Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand. Rallies and marches were held in the major cities. On 29 May 2019, the NZEI and the PPTA stage a mega strike demanding higher salaries, rejecting the Government's three-percent pay rise offer.

On 26 June 2019, primary school teachers voted to accept the Government's NZ$1.5 billion collective agreement. Key provisions of the collective agreement include a new pay scale, raising all teachers' base salaries by 18.5% by July 2021, and making Q3+, Q4, and Q5 teachers eligible for a new top salary of NZ$90,000. However, primary principals have rejected the offer, regarding the government's offer as insufficient.

On 26 July 2019, the New Zealand Educational Institute's early childhood teacher members voted to accept a collective agreement with the Ministry of Education that will put early childhood education teachers' pay on par with primary and secondary school teachers. As part of the terms, early childhood education teachers will receive a pay rise of at least 18.5% by July 2020, NZEI members will receive a lump sum of NZ$1,500, and there will be an increase in the head and senior teachers' allowances, and a new top step of NZ$90,000 for teachers. While the NZEI negotiates on behalf of all early childhood teachers in New Zealand, union members only make up 12.5% of the early childhood workforce in this country.

References

References

1. "About Us". New Zealand Educational Institute.
2. (1966). "Teachers' Organisations — Primary".
3. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Combs, Frank Livingstone".
4. Olssen, Erik. (11 March 2010). "Unions and employee organisations – Unions after 1960".
5. "Primary Schools Collective Agreements". New Zealand Educational Institute.
6. (24 July 2025). "NZ's largest teachers' union taking Government to court over resource teacher cuts". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
7. (15 August 2018). "Teachers' strike today: School's out – All you need to know". The New Zealand Herald.
8. (1 March 2016). "Strikes and labour disputes – Legislation from the 1990s". Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
9. (22 August 2002). "Teachers' pay parity preserved, but writing on wall". [[New Zealand Herald]].
10. (29 May 2019). "Live: Teachers on 'mega strike'". [[Radio New Zealand]].
11. (28 May 2019). "New Zealand schools hit by 'mega-strike' as 50,000 teachers walk out". [[The Guardian]].
12. (29 May 2019). "Teachers' mega-strike: What to do with your kids today". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
13. (26 June 2019). "Primary teachers say yes, principals say no to latest collective agreement offers". [[Stuff (website).
14. (26 June 2019). "Teachers accept pay deal – but principals reject it". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
15. "Proposed settlement for primary teachers". New Zealand Educational Institute.
16. (26 July 2019). "Kindergarten teachers vote to accept collective agreement, giving them pay parity". [[Stuff (website).
17. (26 July 2019). "Kindergarten teachers accept new collective agreement". New Zealand Educational Institute.