Teachers, nurses, ‘down in the dumps’, taking the Government to court over pay

Monday, 18 August 2025

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Labour leader Chris Hipkins are accusing each other of lying about the pay equity changes.

Five unions are mounting a legal challenge against the Government over how it scaled back the pay equity process.

In May, the Government announced its plan to change the Equal Pay Act and then changed the law under urgency within two days. As a result, the Government expected to save $12 billion over the next four years from cutting expected pay increases - which the unions said would leave more than 150,000 workers worse off.

Unions representing those workers, who include teachers, nurses, social workers and other public servants, have confirmed they would go to court to argue the law change breached the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.

The unions would argue that the law change and the process for changing it breached the rights to freedom from gender-based pay discrimination, the right to natural justice and the right to fair legal process.

They would ask that the Equal Pay Act Amendment be considered by a parliamentary select committee. The bill never went before a select committee, as the Government skirted usual lawmaking process to pass the law under urgency ahead of Budget Day.

Kalesha Segatta is a teacher at Newlands Intermediate School in Wellington.

For Kalesha Segatta, a teacher at Newlands Intermediate in Wellington, this legal challenge represented a last-ditch attempt for teachers to get out of a serious slump.

“We've been down in the dumps for quite a month or so now, reeling from what happened. Then, obviously, we were offered such a low amount with out our collective bargaining campaign. I'm just trying to stay positive,” she said.

Teachers and nurses - two professions that had their pay equity claims cancelled in May - are at loggerheads with the Government after receiving pay offers that don’t keep up with annual inflation.

Five unions are taking the Government to court over the pay equity changes.

Teachers were offered a 1% pay rise, while nurses have been offered an immediate 2% pay rise followed by 1% next year. They have declined those offers, with secondary teachers set to strike in protest - and nurses are set to hold a second strike in September.

Segatta said primary and intermediate teachers had been expecting to reach their pay equity settlement next year, which could have seen them receive a 20% pay rise. But with that taken away, and the 1% offer, she said it was hard to remain committed to teaching in New Zealand.

“Our pay has never been made equal, or fair, when you compare us to male dominated professions with the same level of responsibilities,” she said.

With the pay equity claim gone, she said young teachers were now looking overseas - where they felt the pay and respect for their profession was better.

“I take great pride in what I do, and I take great pride in telling people that this is what I do. But I worry that is dropping off. I worry that people aren't seeing pride in teaching because it's not as respected as it should be,” she said.

The unions involved in the judicial review were the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Public Service Association, Post-Primary Teachers Association, Tertiary Education Union and NZEI. They said they would formally lodge their claim at the High Court on August 29.