HAU TAKI HAERE Tertiary Update No 6, 2026.

May Day Maranga Ake – Fight Back Together!

Across the motu on Friday 1 May union members will be rallying around our rights as working people, showing our strength as a union movement.

May Day is also known as International Workers' Day. It's always observed on the first of May and is a day to celebrate wins (weekends! pay rises! parental leave!) and to articulate the vision of the collective labour movement.

As the TEU in Aotearoa, we can use May Day to rally together and show that we want a thriving tertiary sector – which means that our work is valued and our institutions are funded right.

The surging cost of living and continuing punitive legislation by the National-led Coalition government (the Employment Leave Bill being the latest attack on work leave entitlements), means that working people in all sectors are having a tough time.

There are choices that leaders can make to improve things for New Zealanders, and May Day rallies are a way for people to stand together and say enough is enough, and that we demand our elected officials make better choices. We need policies that support liveable incomes, food and housing and health security and a hopeful future for our mokopuna.

You are invited to join May Day events in your region.

Your presence at events waving a TEU flag or wearing a TEU tee shirt makes your work visible and shows the Government that we demand more of them. You can also use time at your local rally to talk to your local politician at the events about what matters to you in the tertiary sector.

TEU Te Pou Ahurei | National Secretary, Amy Ross, will be attending the May Day event in Otago; Garrick Cooper Te Tumu Whakarae Māori | National President Māori will be attending the rally in Ōtautahi at the Bridge of Remembrance; and Ti Lamusse Te Tumu Whakarae Tiriti| National President Tiriti will be attending the rally in Cuba Mall, Wellington.

Check out your local May Day event and get down there with your colleagues. Wear your TEU teeshirts or your Maranga Ake teeshirts, bring a TEU flag — use May Day to get visible!

View the calendar of events here: May Day 2026 - Together

Polytechnics go into bargaining on May Day!

It’s auspicious that May Day is also the first day of bargaining for polytechnics. This year we are negotiating the largest multi-employer collective agreement (otherwise known as a MECA) in the tertiary sector. May Day is a great platform to make this historic MECA and the mahi of polytechnic staff visible. If you're polytechnic staff speak to your local branch president or organiser about joining together at May Day events near you.

Yoobee members get their second pay increase!

Yoobee members just received their second pay increase. Their agreement settled in June 2025 and they won a 6% increase over a two-year term.

The TEU collective for Yoobee covers members working under: Yoobee Colleges: Yoobee College of Creative Innovation, New Zealand School of Tourism, Elite School of Beauty, Cut Above Academy.

It is the largest collective agreement we have in the private tertiary sector.

TEU request meeting with new Tertiary Minister, Penny Simmonds

Te Pou Ahurei | National Secretary Amy Ross has requested a meeting with freshly appointed Minister of Tertiary Education and Vocational Education, Penny Simmonds to discuss the needs of our sector.

Amy Ross says she looks forward to meeting with Penny as soon as possible.

“We want to ensure that Penny Simmonds hears about the realities facing our sector right now. Funding constraints, privatisation and change fatigue have hit our members hard in the last two years. As someone with considerable sector experience we expect Penny to take these issues very seriously and act with urgency to make a difference.”

Government’s “dirty climate laundry” aired outside the high court

TEU members joined climate action groups to air out the Government’s “dirty climate laundry” outside the High Court. Clothing emblazoned with climate policies that have been changed or scrapped were pegged to washing lines to draw attention to a landmark legal case brought against Minister Simon Watts by Lawyers for Climate Action and the Environmental Law Initiative (ELI).

One scrapped item was the “Equitable Transitions Strategy” – a plan for ensuring the transition to a zero-carbon future is equitable for the people and communities of Aotearoa. Not only does equitable transition align with union values, we argue that a well-funded tertiary sector should play a key role:

Tertiary education needs to be part of a comprehensive education sector strategy that enables and supports both urgent responses to climate-related issues and forms part of the longer-term plan that equips people with the skills and knowledge needed to tackle climate change, adapt to uncertainties, and take part in building a more sustainable future. (TEU submission on the Emissions Reduction Plan, 2021, p. 4)

The hearing lasted three days, and a reserved decision is expected later this year.

• Read/watch the RNZ story about the case and the demonstration
• Here's a full list of policies and actions that have been cut from the first Emissions Reduction Plan.
• Marc Daalder's article from last year further highlights the government’s “let it burn” approach.

If you’re interested in hearing more about TEU activities around climate issues, join Tiakina te Taiao | Climate Action Network | Tertiary Education Union – Te Hautū Kahurangi o Aotearoa to keep up to date on climate and environmental issues, how they affect the tertiary sector, and what we can all do.

Events - delegate fora

TEU is holding their first ever regional delegate forums starting this month in Palmerston North (16 April), followed by Auckland (24 April) with two dates to be confirmed for Christchurch and Dunedin in May/June.

The aim of the forums is to create space for all delegates to get together with their colleagues from within their respective regions (Central, Northern or Southern) to share ideas and strategies, do some skills work, learn more about the delegate role, and our communications strategy for this year.  This is the next step in developing and supporting delegates in their union mahi with the intention of this becoming a regular fixture in our TEU calendar.