Secondary teachers' pay dispute 2025

The story so far

The Post Primary Teachers' Association rejected a government pay offer of 1% a year for three years in July, which was reported as one of the lowest ever made to secondary teachers.^{24 Jul 2025} After talks stalled, the union held a nationwide one-day strike in August over the 1% offer, and many high schools closed. Public Service Minister Judith Collins called the strike a political stunt, and later admitted to mixing up her claim about teacher pay.^{13, 19, 20 Aug 2025} The government revised its offer, and the union recommended in September that members reject it because it remained below inflation. Strikes continued in October, and in November more than 20,000 teachers struck during NCEA exams.^{20 Aug 2025; 8 Sep 2025; 13 Oct 2025; 5 Nov 2025} In December, secondary teachers voted to accept a collective agreement giving a 4.6% pay increase over two years, with higher allowances for management roles and NCEA assessment oversight, ending the dispute.^{4 Dec 2025}

Latest

Secondary teachers accepted the settlement in December, ending the negotiations. Primary teachers' union NZEI Te Riu Roa then rejected the government's latest pay offer, following a similar rejection by primary principals.^{4, 17 Dec 2025}

Key moments

1. 24 Jul 2025Union rejects 1% annual pay offer, reportedly among the lowest ever made to secondary teachers.
2. 13 Aug 2025Minister Judith Collins calls the planned strike a political stunt.
3. 20 Aug 2025Nationwide one-day strike closes many high schools; government says it is revising its offer.
4. 8 Sep 2025Union recommends members reject revised offer, which remains below inflation.
5. 23 Sep 2025Education Minister fails to deliver keynote at PPTA annual conference in Christchurch.
6. 20 Oct 2025Prime Minister Luxon calls upcoming mega strike politically motivated.
7. 5 Nov 2025More than 20,000 teachers strike during second day of NCEA exams.
8. 4 Dec 2025Teachers vote to accept settlement: 4.6% over two years, ending negotiations.

Written from the stories below; each sentence links to its sources.