Pay rises offered to non-union primary teachers amid stalled negotiations

Wednesday, 11 March 2026

The Public Service Commission has made it possible for primary school boards to offer pay rises to teachers who are not a part of a union.

This comes after nine months of negotiations between the Commission and the primary school teachers’ union, NZEI Te Riu Roa. The period, which is still continuing, has been peppered with strikes, rejected pay offers and accusations of bad faith.

Liam Rutherford, teacher and NZEI negotiation team lead, said the Commission’s latest move seemed designed to split teachers from the union.

“We know the cost of living is a significant issue for teachers,” he said of the potential pay rise it presents.

“But what is most frustrating for someone who teaches in the sector, is that none of this is going to deal with the issues that have brought us into this negotiation.”

Rutherford said unionised teachers are concerned about more than their pay, and are also calling for measures that would combat shortages, keep teachers in the country and support teachers with the roll-out of new curricula.

Rutherford said the union will be pursuing urgent legal action against the move.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Erica Stanford welcomed the announcement - which gives teachers employed on individual agreements the option of pay increases up to 4.7% within 12 months.

“Teachers have a right to a contract and it is fair and reasonable that nearly a third of primary school teachers, who are not part of the NZEI, should be offered a contract so they can receive the pay increases that the Government has already offered,” she said in a statement.

“This would equate to approximately $50 to $76 each week and is pay that non-union teachers could already be receiving if not impacted by the NZEI’s ongoing approach to bargaining.”

Usually, individually-employed teachers are offered pay alterations that reflect the collective agreement reached after union negotiations conclude. Stanford said this move prioritises ensuring that the approximately 10,000 teachers on individual agreements “can lock in pay increases without further delay”.

But according to Rutherford, “the best way to get non-union teachers paid is to get the collective agreement settled”.

What teachers have been offered

The boost announced by Stanford on Wednesday means that primary school teachers on individual agreements will be eligible for pay increases of up to 4.7% within 12 months.

For teachers on the top two steps of the pay scale, that will mean a 2.5% increase on March 20, and a further 2.1% increase on January 28 next year.

Teachers moving up the first eight steps of the scale will continue to receive annual set increases, but also get a 2.5% boost on March 20 and a 2% increase in January 2027.

For comparison, members of the union rejected a very similar proposal in December last year.

This would have meant teachers on the top two steps of the pay scale received a 2.5% increase on January 28 and a further 2.1% a year later.

Teachers moving up the pay scale would have continued to receive annual step increases, but also seen a 2.5% boost on January 28 and a 2% increase in January 2027.

An earlier version of this story referred to an offer made to the union in August, rather than December. (Amended at 1.25pm on March 3, 2026)