The primary teachers union says it is taking legal action to force the Ministry of Education to honour an agreement on teacher pay.
Schools in the Hawke's Bay last year trialled a system that recognises the skills of 7000 diploma-qualified teachers, giving them the same pay rates as those with degrees.
But Educational Institute national secretary Paul Goulter says the ministry has refused to adopt the system or to increase the salaries of teachers who completed the trial.
Mr Goulter says the union is taking legal action through the Employment Relations Authority.
But the ministry's education workforce group manager, Fiona McTavish, says it agreed to implement the system only if it was a success, and it needs to be much more sophisticated.
Te Mata School principal Michael Bain says the ministry should pay up, especially as schools need a way to keep experienced diploma-qualified teachers.
