Around 300 NZEI Te Riu Roa members employed by early childhood education business Evolve Education are taking action today against proposed cuts to union-won pay and working conditions.
Members across the country are participating in events throughout the day as part of a nationwide “Day of Action”.
Early childhood teacher and NZEI Te Riu Roa early childhood education representative Zane McCarthy said teachers and support staff decided to take action following an impasse in collective agreement negotiations.
“Evolve has made an offer that proposes to claw back pay and working conditions won by union members in the 2023-2026 collective agreement and fails to recognise their hard work and continuing cost-of-living pressures,” Mr McCarthy said.
“Teachers and support staff at Evolve go above and beyond every day to ensure our youngest tamariki feel safe, loved, valued, and supported. They do this because they believe every child deserves the very best start in life. Their work is essential to our communities and to the future of Aotearoa.
“All they are seeking is fair pay and employment conditions,” Mr McCarthy added. “We will stand our ground, and we are not ruling out further action.”
Evolve’s proposals seek to:
- Freeze pay across the board with no salary increases.
- Revert certified teachers to the baseline Full Pay Parity scale on their next progression step, rather than the current collective agreement which is 3% higher.
- Place all newly hired or newly certified teachers on Step 1 of the pay scale, regardless of experience and qualifications.
- Remove allowances for newly appointed Team Leaders and Assistant Centre Managers.
- Exclude Centre Managers and Assistant Centre Managers from the collective agreement altogether.
The country’s second largest private early childhood education provider, Evolve Education operates around 80 centres under brands including Lollipops, Active Explorers, Learning Adventures, Little Wonders, Little Lights, and Pascals. It is owned by Australian private equity firm Anchorage and received $85.6mln in government funding for the year ending 31 December 2025.