We are the 48,000+ principals, teachers and support staff who work in primary, area and secondary schools, early childhood centres, special education and school advisory services.

We come together as NZEI Te Riu Roa - New Zealand’s largest education union, a Treaty-based organisation and a powerful advocate for quality public education.

ECE Voice

Early Childhood teachers do an incredibly important job. But there is a crisis in early childhood education. The government is leaving ECE behind and that's not okay. They need to act urgently to fix the gap. 

Our voice will be stronger if we all join together. Have your say - vote now!

AKO - The community issue

The new winter issue of AKO - our journal for education professionals - is out now!
It's all about community and the value of strong connections.

Read AKO online.

Support staff paid union meetings

Support staff paid union meetings are being held between 21 October and 1 November to discuss progress in our collective agreement negotiations and pay equity claims. 

Find your nearest meeting

Our campaigns

Every child is worth it petition

We're asking the Prime Minister, Minister of Education and Minister of Finance to honour their pre-election pledge to restore early childhood education funding, deliver on 100% qualified teachers, and reduce teacher to child ratios.

Sign the petition

Every child is worth it

We think that every child is worth the best early childhood education New Zealand can possibly provide, and a great start in life. We want the Government to restore per-child funding and commit to 100% qualified teachers in every ECE service. New Zealand can afford to provide quality ECE. That's why we campaign for quality, teacher-led ECE as a right for every child.

Learn more about the campaign

Our 10-year strategic plan for ECE

Mana Taurite - Pay equity

No matter who you are or what kind of work you do, you deserve to be paid fairly for your work. But for women, achieving fair pay has been a long, hard battle that isn't over yet. Despite the passing of the Equal Pay Act 40 years ago, women are still paid $4 an hour less, on average, than men. In many cases that's because work that's traditionally done by women - such as caring and working with young children - has been historically undervalued.

Learn more about the campaign

Join the pay equity pledge

Events

Get help

Contact our member advisory officers

Call us between 8.30am and 5.00pm on freephone 0800 693 443, or email nzei@nzei.org.nz for confidential advice.

Recent news and media

08 Oct 2019: NZEI Te Riu Roa welcomes Government's education spending signals

NZEI Te Riu Roa has welcomed a statement from Finance Minister Grant Robertson that the Government is set to make "record investments" in education. The Finance Minister signalled the spending while announcing a $7.5b surplus in the year to June earl Read More

02 Oct 2019: NZEI Te Riu Roa launches bold campaign for fair pay in ECE

NZEI Te Riu Roa has launched a bold new campaign to fix the pay gap in early childhood education (ECE) and empower the whole sector at its annual conference in Rotorua this morning. Read More

30 Sep 2019: NZEI Te Riu Roa honours scholarship and award recipients

NZEI Te Riu Roa has honoured scholarship and award recipients as part of its annual conference in Rotorua. Read More

26 Sep 2019: NZEI Te Riu Roa members to announce new campaign at Annual Conference

Media are invited to attend the 2019 NZEI Te Riu Roa Annual Conference in Rotorua on Monday 30 September and Wednesday 2 October. Read More