Mere days into its stewardship under a new vice-chancellor Lincoln University is proposing to restructure its Faculty of Commerce and make five senior tutors redundant.

The change proposal document states that the university wants to disestablish all existing senior tutor positions in the faculty. A new 0.5 FTE administrative assistant will help to undertake the administrative tasks of eight senior tutor positions (of which three are already vacant).

The university will also transfer the teaching-related tasks of senior tutors to teaching assistant positions (currently referred to in the Faculty as casual tutors) that work closely with, and report directly to course examiners.

Lincoln management says casual tutors would usually be suitably qualified graduate students or senior undergraduate students but non-students may also be appointed to the role.

TEU national secretary Sharn Riggs said she is concerned that this proposal may be the start of increased casualisation of the academic workforce at Lincoln.

“Not only is the university reducing the number of staff with no effort to also reduce workload, it is also replacing good, permanent jobs with casual, insecure ones.”

“I have concerns about the job security of academic staff who have invested time into developing teaching resources that may then be used by less qualified casual staff to cover their teaching requirements.”

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Govt signals another austerity budget
2. Joyce rejects call to prevent UC closures
3. TEC outlines its goals for 2013
4. Aussie uni comparison site ‘must be treated with caution’

Other news

University of Canterbury pro-vice-chancellor of the college of arts, Prof Ed Adelson, released his change proposal for the college of arts. The change proposal calls for the termination of American Studies, Cultural Studies and Theatre and Film Studies programmes. On Wednesday 28 March students were given their only public opportunity to have their voices heard. Here is a video of some of those voices.

People with student loans going on their big OE will have to start repaying their loans after just one year and provide Inland Revenue with a contact in New Zealand to help track them down - New Zealand Herald

At a time when society needs genuine regeneration, facilitated and encouraged through high quality public education, many of the so-called ‘reforms’ in education seek to portray teachers as simple transmitters of skills, and schools as institutions established to produce made-to-order students for the job market. In this context, families become education consumers, neatly fitting into market segments divided by their socio-economic level -Worlds of Education

Wisconsin’s controversial Republican Governor Scott Walker will face a recall election on 5 June over a new law he championed that strips public sector and tertiary education unions of most power, becoming the first U.S. governor to face a no-confidence vote in nearly a decade - Reuters

Photo of Eric J Stone (TEU) and Terry Mita (TIASA) at Moerewa with a ute full of food that union members at NorthTec collected together to support Affco workers locked out by Talleys. Laurie Nankivell the MWU Shed Secretary on the picket line was pleased at the solidarity shown by education unions. Some of these workers have not had work for five weeks.

March 2012

In this newsletter:

1. Filling extended leave positions – is a trend developing for not appointing staff to fill these positions?
2. Recruiting general staff in the ITP sector – your chance to be involved.
3. General Staff Day 2012 – all about recruitment – and some fun!
4. The impact of VSM – are student support services staff noticing any impacts?
5. What’s in a name?
6. The general staff sector group in 2012 – contact details for your representatives.
7. A brief outline of the purpose of the general staff sector group.
8. Where to go on the TEU website for information about general staff in the union.
9. The TEU staff person responsible for the general staff sector group.

The first general staff sector group meeting for the year was a combined meeting with the ITP (institutes of technology/polytechnics) sector group, which also includes a representative from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.  This worked really well and we could see the advantage of working more collaboratively as a union and how this would benefit the advancement of issues important to general staff.  We also benefitted from a breakout session to focus solely on general staff issues and believe this needs to continue as part of the Industrial and Professional Committee meeting format next year.

Below are some of the issues discussed during the meeting that the general staff sector group will be working on in 2012.

Extended leave

General staff continue to find themselves under pressure due to government funding shortfalls of tertiary education.  One of the ways which this manifests is TEIs choosing not to backfill positions on extended leave (including parental leave).  Not only is this making members on leave feel more vulnerable but it also creates significant workload issues for their colleagues.  The general staff sector group agreed to further canvas this issue, and if a trend is developing, a strategy for addressing it will need to be developed, including highlighting health and safety issues that may result from workload intensification.  We have asked branches for information on this issue – if you would like to contribute from your own experience, please contact your branch president.

Recruiting general staff

Supporting general staff recruitment this year will be a major focus for the general staff sector group.  Last year, we identified recruitment in the ITP sector as the major focus for 2012, however there is still plenty of scope to recruit general staff in the university sector.  We encourage all branches to have a specific focus on how to recruit general staff in their recruitment plans.  There are many excellent resources available from the national office – either check online teu.ac.nz or give the office a ring 04-801-5098.

General Staff Day 2012

Recruitment will also be a major focus of General Staff Day this year.  The date  is tentatively set for Wednesday 4th July, pending feedback from branches.  Some university branches may want to look at how they can support the recruitment efforts of their local ITP colleagues – either with practical support by contributing time to these activities, or by sharing tips and success stories.

The impact of VSM – are student support services staff noticing any impacts?

The Bill to introduce voluntary student membership to students’ associations was enacted in January this year.  The general staff sector group is interested in tracking whether student support services staff have noticed any impact on their work as a result of this.  Send your thoughts to Jo Scott in the TEU national office jo.scott@teu.ac.nz

What’s in a name?

We have noticed some of our instituions are adopting different terminlology to describe the very broad occupational group “general staff”.

At the University of Auckland, the term “professional staff” is being used; at Massey University, management have begun using the term “professional and service staff”.  Other terms in use either in new Zealand or overseas include: allied staff and education support staff.

What do you think?  Send thoughts and ideas to Jo Scott jo.scott@teu.ac.nz

General staff sector group 2012

We have a dedicated group of members working on your behalf during 2012:

The general staff vice president (ITPs) position has recently become vacant with Ken Laraman’s retirement form the sector.  Best wishes for the future Ken and thanks for your contribution to general staff in the TEU.

We have vacancies on the sector group in general staff positions for the ITP sector, however a number of ITP general staff (and their unviersity counterparts) work in other sector groups or committees within the union.

What is the general staff sector group?

The general staff sector group (GSSG) is the union’s representative body for general staff in all tertiary education organisations.  The GSSG provides other sector groups, committees and council with general staff perspectives in relation to industrial and professional policy and strategy, recruitment strategies, lobbying and campaigns.  These groups may also direct issues or concerns that require general staff involvement to the GSSG for action.

Find out more…

The TEU website has a page dedicated to the general staff sector group.  Follow this link teu.ac.nz/general-staff

The TEU staff person responsible for the general staff sector group is Jo Scott jo.scott@teu.ac.nz

]]> http://teu.ac.nz/2012/03/welcome-to-the-teu-general-staff-sector-groups-newsletter/feed/ 0 http://teu.ac.nz/2012/03/welcome-to-the-teu-general-staff-sector-groups-newsletter/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TEUGeneralStaff/~3/sTJ0wNJS0QY/ http://teu.ac.nz/2012/03/phoenix-rises-from-christchurch-rubble/#comments Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:56:10 +0000 TEU http://teu.ac.nz/?p=17292 The newly founded Phoenix University of Canterbury opened for business this week, signifying the start of a new era of tertiary education for Christchurch.

The new universitech, which was the result of a ministerially-driven merger of Canterbury-based tertiary institutions, had until this week been provisionally trading under the name LinctaburyPIT. It has now completed its rebranding and market positioning exercise. The result is it will partner with, and adopt the branding of the United States’ largest education provider, Phoenix University. Phoenix University of Canterbury also announced this week that its streamlined post-merger flexible human resourcing structure would deliver significantly improved returns for bond investors.

“We believe that by removing duplication of library services, back office functions and administration we can save money. We will be able to offer our customers, students, a twenty-four hour a day service to complement their learning experience,” said newly appointed chiefancellor Sir Giles Carrfield.

“Looking forward, these savings have allowed us to invest in Phoenix University’s strategic direction, by appointing a new layer of management.”

Dr Grey’s comments follow news this week that despite the government cutting more than 2500 state sector jobsover the last three years there has been a spending increase of $19 million.

Stuff reported that National have campaigned on cutting backroom services – like IT or human resources – to plough the money into the front line. Last year National pledged to squeeze $1billion out of the state sector over three years.

“A Treasury report scrutinising the cost, efficiency and effectiveness in administrative and support services was released today. It shows 31 agencies managed to prune just $20m over two years. Actual spending has risen by $19m but when adjusted for inflation showed a $20m reduction.

“Treasury itself only managed to save $338,000 between 2009 and 2011.”

Dr Grey says tertiary institutions are facing the same pressure as the rest of the state sector to sack staff in the name of economic efficiency.

“Sacking staff does not reduce work. The work still needs to be done, and if there are not enough staff then you end up bringing in contractors at a more expensive rate than the staff who previously did the job.  Let’s learn the lesson before it is too late: poorly thought out cuts do not save money.”

October 2011

Note:

For further information about these roles, please contact your branch president, branch organiser, or the TEU national office

Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. What might be included in the role?
3. Branch communications
4. Regular contact with the general staff sector group
5. Other branch activities or structures the contact person/s could be involved in
6. Involvement in other events
7. How might the branch select a contact person/s?
8. How long would someone hold the position for?

Introduction

In order to more effectively represent general staff member interests, the general staff sector group (GSSG) would like to see a network of branch contacts set up across all branches, acting as the point of contact for the group, and as a means of feeding back issues and ideas from general staff branch members.

The TEU Rules leave the organisation of branch representation or contacts for the various sector groups to each branch.  This means that branches are free to establish their own local general staff networks in whatever form best suits them.  This guide therefore seeks to offer suggestions to branches about how a general staff network could be set up, rather than being a list of ‘must-do’s’.  We hope you find it a useful starting point.

For further information about general staff involvement in the TEU, go to:

http://teu.ac.nz/general-staff/

What might be included in the role?

Branch communications

• Noticeboards – general staff posters (for example – the TEU General Staff Manifesto).
• Email – ideas or issues from general staff members that the branch would like the general staff sector group to discuss.
• Meetings with general staff members (for example – a morning or afternoon tea get together, a regular time-slot at branch meetings).
• Reminders to members to look at the general staff page on the TEU website www.teu.ac.nz (the page can be found under ‘groups’ on the drop-down menu).

Regular contact with the general staff sector group

The general staff sector group is the union’s national representative body for general staff.  It meets twice a year, and is responsible for completing an annual work plan in-between meetings.  The work plan typically includes industrial priorities, organising and campaigning issues, policy development (both industrial and professional), and responding to sector discussion documents and/or government submissions of relevance to general staff.

The sector group needs to ensure that it is reflecting the interests and concerns of the wider general staff membership.  The best way it can do this is by staying in touch with branches, ideally through a system of contact people.  This doesn’t have to be complicated – a brief email from the branch outlining main issues, ideas or concerns 2-3 times a year would be very helpful.

From time to time the general staff sector group may also need input into submissions or consultation documents.  A contact person/s at each branch would ensure that the group is getting a representative view on issues.

Other branch activities or structures the contact person/s could be involved in

• The branch may decide to include a general staff representative on the branch committee.
• The contact person may be able to advise the branch on suitable general staff representatives for institution committees, working parties etc. that the TEU is involved in.

Involvement in other events

• The branch organising committee for the TEU’s annual General Staff Day.
• Local and national union activities.
• Other union activities, for example events organised by the Council of Trade Unions.

Note: Branches may decide that a network of general staff contact people works best for them.  This can be a very effective way of organising the branch, especially larger branches or those with multiple campuses.  It’s also a great way to share the work around and encourage involvement from members.

How might the branch select a contact person/s?

There are no requirements in the TEU Rules that branches need to meet.  Each branch is free to choose a contact person/s by any means they see fit.  A call for nominations, expressions of interest, or the tried and true method of ‘shoulder-tapping’ are all quite legitimate ways of finding people to represent general staff interests at the branch level.

How long would someone hold the position for?

Again, this is very much up to each branch to decide.  Keep in mind the need to ‘grow’ member involvement and activism and not ‘burning out’ one person.  It’s probably a good idea to have some kind of review of the role each year (perhaps at the branch AGM).

The bargaining team for members of the two unions say the mediated bargaining meetings were constructive, with the university considering and responding to the issues raised on behalf of members.

“We are now in a position to recommend a proposed settlement to members.”

The proposed settlement includes a two percent salary increase and an agreement that TEU and PSA representatives will meet with the vice-chancellor prior to a salary increase offer being made to staff for 2013.

The agreement also includes a new annual salary review process with reference to both development and performance and it retains the joint union/employer salary review committee and an appeal process. The agreement will include safeguards to clauses about disciplinary and review processes to protect membership involvement and ensure procedures for future change are clear and fair.

A fairer pay system was a crucial negotiating issue for general staff at the University of Auckland.

In the meantime, general staff will be picketing outside Alfred Nathan House at lunchtime both today and tomorrow.

General staff have been campaigning for two year for a transparent, objective and fair pay system to replace the current performance pay system.

Union members will meet next week to discuss bargaining and a campaign of action. They are seeking a reasonable pay increase effective February 2012, including a set percentage salary increase and commitment from the university to work together with general staff to develop a new remuneration model based on the agreed principles of fairness, transparency and objectivity.

The university has rejected these claims in negotiations and instead made a nil pay offer (maintaining they have insufficient information on the university’s financial situation) and a proposal to use currently non-existent ‘relevant’ policy to review salaries.

TEU organiser Jane Kostanich says the university consistently refuses to reach an agreement on already reduced union claims and is intransigent in negotiations.

“We have proposed that any future meetings between the parties should be with mediation assistance. A campaign is now essential to shift the employer position.”

“Performance-based pay is widely recognised by most independent researchers to be a failed management technique that does nothing to improve performance. It is notable mostly for driving down salaries and creating unhappy, unproductive workplaces,” said Ms Kostanich.

Mr Draper and Ms Francey are both experienced TEU officials who many of their union colleagues will know well. Details of the election, including campaign material from the candidates, will be available soon. All TEU members who are academics at an ITP will be eligible to vote.

Sharn Riggs, the union’s national secretary and returning officer announced the results of a recent round of nominations for TEU officer positions.

Sean Sturm, University of Auckland, John Prince, AUT, Scott Walters, Lincoln University, Diane Ruwhiu, University of Otago, Dov Bing, University of Waikato and Brian Marsh the teacher education rep were all elected unopposed to the University Sector Group. Likewise Helen Brett, University of Otago , Roland (David) Brownlee, University of Auckland and Annie Barker, University of Waikato were elected unopposed to the General Staff Sector Group.