Pay Equity

Background

In late 2020, the teachers' pay equity claim was initiated by PPTA Te Wehengarua and NZEI Te Riu Roa.

The claim covered over 90,000 teachers and principals across primary, secondary, area schools and over 550 ECE services.

Unions and the Ministry conducted 300+ interviews, analysed the data, looked for comparators and planned to begin final scoring when…

The government retrospectively cancelled all current claims by passing the Equal Pay Amendment Bill 2025 under urgency.

What the 2025 Amendment Bill Does

When nurses, teachers, midwives, and support workers are valued, our communities are healthier and more connected.

But the Government has gutted the Equal Pay Act. Their changes reverse decades of progress to balance pay for women and people of all genders working jobs that have been undervalued. 

What’s Changed and Why it Matters

Higher Bar to Enter a Claim

Old rule: 60% female workforce, historically or currently undervalued, short explanation needed.
New rule: 70% female workforce for 10 years, must prove the work is both historically and currently undervalued.
Unions must now present substantial evidence up front – making it harder just to start a claim.

More Power to Employers

Employers now:
Have more time to respond (60 working days instead of 45).
Can decide a claim does not have merit and stop it at the start.
Can opt out of multi-employer claims without good reason, forcing separate processes.
Can claim there are no valid comparators and shut the claim down.

Comparator Rules Make Claims Impossible

New law imposes a rigid hierarchy for choosing male-dominated comparator jobs:
1. Within the same employer.
2. From similar employers.
3. From the same industry or sector.
4. From other settled claims – but only those settled after 2025.

These rules deliberately block teachers from finding valid comparators, making it impossible to meet pay equity criteria. It is likely many other groups of workers that were part of the previous pay equity process will also not be able to take new claims.

Bottom Line

The changes entrench gender-based pay discrimination. They lock work that’s important to all of us – like care, education, administration – into being undervalued. They take money from the pockets of workers it’s promised to – who are mostly women, in low-paid mahi.

The Government’s changes make it impossible for teachers to progress a pay equity claim. This dismantles an agreed process, wastes years of work, and undervalues the profession.

PPTA will continue exploring all options to challenge these unjust changes.

What You Can Do Now

Sign and share the petition

Sign the petition to protect pay equity

Show your support and take action on budget day Thursday 22 May 2025.
Meet with your colleagues to talk about the Equal Pay Act changes and sign the petition / email your local MP.
Take a photo with your colleagues or in your branch and share using #ProtectPayEquity #StandingForEqualPay
If you’d like us to share your pics on social media, tag @nzppta on Instagram or you can email them to us socials@ppta.org.nz