About NZEI Te Riu Roa

Prior to the passing of the Trade Unions Regulation and Management Act of 1978, there was no legal definition of a trade union in New Zealand. Pictured are members of NZEI Te Riu Roa in 1887 – the earliest available picture of members in our records!

The New Zealand Education Institute was established as part of a resolution of other smaller associations and agreed to amalgamate with future bodies also able to join the institute. It was a bold move given the challenges of national communication and travel at the time.

Despite the best efforts of the Prime Minister of the day, women’s right to vote was enshrined in legislation on 19 September 1893 by a slim majority of the upper house (20 for, 18 against). This laid the foundations for future equity work to recognise the contributions of women to Aotearoa society. Image source: Parliamentary Collection 

Magill was a prominent member of society and was also the first openly queer president of NZEI Te Riu Roa. At the time of her death in 1962 there had only been one other female president of the union.

The publication was a scathing rebuke of the existing educational policy instrument and called for radical changes to the Education Act – reducing it to just four clauses and effectively calling for the consolidation of education policy decision making to a National Board of Education, rather than resting with the whims of the government of the day.

In 1944 NZEI Te Riu Roa published 'Educational Reconstruction' which set out proposed reforms for the education system in Aotearoa in a post war world. Free, compulsory and universal education was subsequently introduced later that year through the Education Act.

In their founding documents, the Post-Primary Teachers' Association states their objectives as advancing the cause of education general, to advocate for their member's claims and to affirm and advance Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

The pictured pamphlet from 1957 illustrates the spread of class sizes across the country. Over 60 years later and the underlying principle remains that smaller classes are better for teachers and students.

It's not all about hard work, and after three-quarters of a century a bit of a celebration is definitely justified! Pictured are members enjoying a drink (and the odd cigarette) together to reflect on 75 years of NZEI Te Riu Roa. 

This act legislated the obligation for state service workers to be paid equally for equal work without gender being a consideration when setting wages. This was a landmark step towards pay equity in Aotearoa.

Pictured: Attendees at Annual Meeting 1960

Education House was the home of NZEI Te Riu Roa, amongst other varied uses over the years, right through until March 2021. The site has since been repurposed into a hall of residence for students at Victoria University of Wellington.

NZEI Te Riu Roa has not only held a seat at the table of policy discussions for decades – they’ve also hosted one. These photos of Keith Holyoake (then Prime Minister) and Norman Kirk (then Leader of the Opposition and future Prime Minister) addressing the NZEI Te Riu Roa annual meeting demonstrates the union’s longstanding connections with the highest level of politics and policy.

As true then as it is today: what is good for tamariki Māori is good for all tamariki. In the words of a report to the 1971 annual meeting on Māori education: “By focussing on the problems of the Maoris [sic], much can be more easily lent to solve problems and this benefit our society as a whole.”

Pictured: a meeting of the NZEI Te Riu Roa Māori Reference Group

Where the Government Service Equal Pay Act laid the foundations for equal pay in the public sector, this act extended its principles to private sector employees. It afforded some level of protection for employees whose occupation was considered less valuable on account of being women’s work. Despite this step forward, the fight for pay equity continues to this day. 

Te Kōhanga Reo movement was driven by Māori in response to drastic drops in the knowledge and use of te reo Māori over the 20th century. By 1993, there were more Kōhanga Reo around the country than kindergartens or playcentres despite a complete lack of government funding or support.

Much like Kōhanga Reo, these early Kura had to fundraise to operate. They delivered the state curriculum in a full immersion setting. It wasn’t until 1989 that the government began supporting these kura and 1990 before it supported the establishment of new Kura Kaupapa Māori.

Pictured: Hoani Waititi Marae, the location of the first Kura Kaupapa to be established in Aotearoa. 

Off the back of the Picot Report in 1988, the Labour government passed legislation intended to modernise the education system. This act laid out the shape of the sector in New Zealand in many ways. Among many stipulations, it implemented the 'Tomorrow’s Schools' reforms and abolished Education Boards to be replaced by individual Boards of Trustees for each school.

Pictured: Mr Brian Picot visiting the NZEI national executive, July 1988

The Act dealt a severe blow to unionism in Aotearoa and marked the beginning of a steep decline in employment conditions in the years following. It effectively promoted individual employment agreements by making union membership voluntary and removing any special status of unions in negotiations.

The government of the day proposed a move to bulk funding for schools – that each school would be given a bulk amount of money each year and they would choose how to spend it – including setting wages for teachers. Parents and teachers opposed this move as it would lead to rich schools and poor schools

Following the pressure created by the Employment Contracts Act 1991, members of NZEI Te Riu Roa and the Combined Early Childhood Union of Aotearoa (CECUA) voted to amalgamate the two organisations to build their collective strength across both sectors.

Pictured: Union staff stuffing envelopes to notify members of the amalgamation of the two unions. 

Te Iria was a lifetime advocate for NZEI Te Riu Roa and the education sector. She was staunchly committed to quality public education. Such was her commitment to the cause that she passed away while in attendance at Te Kāhui Whetu in 2015 and was mourned by many colleagues, friends and whanau within our union and beyond.

“Pay parity was not only a victory for teachers but for all women … pay parity constitutes a considerable step towards addressing the low pay rates and undervaluing of women workers that are so much a part of the New Zealand labour market.” – Liz Patara during her presidential address, 1998 Annual Meeting

While the new act didn’t undo all the damage done in 1991, this act promoted collective bargaining, permanent employment over fixed term and paid employment education leave. Of note was the requirement for unions and employers to negotiate in good faith; a principle that is still central to the way that NZEI Te Riu Roa negotiates collective agreements.

This was a landmark moment, bringing together a previously disconnected group of workers to exercise their collective strength. This was a strong signal of the crucial role of learning support in education in Aotearoa. 

Pictured: GSE Support Workers gathered at National Office in Whanganui-a-tara.

Following on from the precedent set in 1998, pay parity with primary teachers was negotiated for kindergarten teachers. This cemented the idea that the age of the child does not determine the value of those teaching them. 

Pictured: Teacher Jan Edward showing pay parity campaign poster to Manawatu resident Angela McKinnon.

Parity for ECE teachers with their kindergarten colleagues was first won in 2004 under the Consenting Parties Agreement. The fragmented nature of the privately owned early childhood education sector has meant that this standard has not been consistently upheld and work in this space is ongoing. 

Pictured: Teachers Paula Matheson (left), Danielle Simnor (centre) and Debbie Campbell-Knight (right) celebrate pay parity for ECE under the consenting parties agreement.

This was a landmark moment for support staff members of NZEI Te Riu Roa, banding together and making a clear statement to the government about their value to the sector. The signatures were presented in physical boxes to the Associate Minister to demonstrate the scale of their support.

The nationwide strike included 1700 teachers in 22 cities and towns, which was the largest strike in the 116-year history of the kindergarten movement. It was part of a bigger campaign for conditions in kindergartens, lasting over 2 years.