“500 members are about 5 percent of our membership. When one in twenty people are having their job changed or taken away from them we know we do not have a very stable environment for ensuring teaching and education.”

“But the worst part is that we seem to be in a state of never-ending reviews. TEU’s national council has been tracking reviews for a year now and they just keep coming,” said Ms Cormack.

New reviews have recently started at Manukau Institute of Technology, NorthTec, Wintec, University of Auckland, AUT, University of Canterbury, Massey University, University of Otago, University of Waikato and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. Ms Cormack says TEU has recorded 49 confirmed redundancies because of those reviews via voluntary or compulsory severance so far.

“500 members is about five percent of our membership. When one in twenty people is having their job changed or taken away from them we know we do not have a very stable environment for good teaching and education.”

“In November last year we recorded 55 reviews at 12 institutions. In October 44 reviews at 17 institutions, in September 43 reviews at 18 institutions, in August 58 reviews at 20 institutions, in July 77 reviews at 24 institutions and so on,” said Ms Cormack.

The University of Canterbury has reached the midpoint of its three-year collective agreement and is negotiating to make variations to that collective agreement on issues not involving pay or money. The university has agreed to TEU claims to extend coverage to a larger group of general staff. It seems likely that the CPI adjusted pay rise for TEU members at the university will be five percent. (TEU members agreed that their pay rise for the second and third years of their three-year collective agreement would be based on CPI.)

TEU members at CPIT are disappointed by claims from their employer to ‘buy’ their discretionary leave and their workload limit on duty weeks off them with an offer of 4 percent and 2 percent over two years. Negotiations are continuing there.

TEU members at Weltec are also facing claims to remove their discretionary leave. Their employer wants to phase out discretionary leave by 2014, remove it entirely from all new staff employed before 2014 and, remove quarterly timetabled teaching hour limits and some entitlements to professional development. In return, Weltec is offering its TEU members 1.5 and 1.5 percent for two years. Staff are discussing, among other things, whether to take industrial action in response to the employer’s offer.

Academics at the University of Auckland have all been moved onto individual agreements on 30 June after their collective agreement expired over a year ago. Those 954 members will now be meeting on Wednesday 27 July to consider their employer’s latest offer and the TEU’s counter offer, and to decide whether to send the employer’s offer to ratification. In the meantime, industrial action and picketing continues at the university.

Negotiations are also underway or about to start at NMIT and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, Massey University and Auckland University of Technology. TEU has initiated for its first ever allied (general) staff collective agreement at AUT.

Lincoln University closed on Tuesday but reopened yesterday after engineers said they could not find any structural issues. Te Wānanga o Aotearoa’s Otautahi courses are closed all this week. Aoraki and Te Tai Poutini Polytechnics reopened their Christchurch buildings yesterday.

Meanwhile, TEU national president, Dr Sandra Grey said that, given the on-going earthquakes in Christchurch, it was time for the government to let the local tertiary institutions know what it was going to do to support them next year.

“Students and staff are doing an incredible job making do in very trying circumstances. But we need to assure those staff and students that there will be new funding and support for the next few years while that rebuilding continues.”

Thanks to Lee Hanner @ Flickr for the photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/shelby99/5695687512

TEU members at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa are dismayed that their employer is offering them less annual leave than members of both the wānanga’s in-house union, TUIA, and kaimahi on individual agreements.

Kaimahi at the wānanga are entitled to the legal minimum of four weeks annual leave. But kaimahi who are members of TUIA, or on individual agreements and do not belong to a union, are entitled to a further three days of annual leave to use between Christmas and New Year, so long as they have 12 or fewer  days annual leave accrued.

TEU Te Pou Tuarā, Lee Cooper, who is currently involved in negotiations for a new collective agreement, says TEU members feel that the wānanga is not being a fair employer and it is treating kaimahi differently because of their union membership.

“It seems just because TEU members choose to belong to an independent democratic union the employer at the wānanga is offering them three days fewer holidays than their peers. This simply isn’t fair.”

In most tertiary education institutions five weeks, rather than four weeks leave, is the standard, so our members’ claim is not excessive.

In a letter to TEU the wānanga has confirmed that it has made a deliberate choice to “maintain some differences in its collective agreements”.

“Why would an employer decide that one group of kaimahi is allowed to spend more time with their whānau just because of which union they choose to belong to?” asked Mr Cooper.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Minister criticises academic
2. Weltec staff worry about being locked in to Rimutaka
3. Auckland  vice-chancellor feeling the pressure
4. Minister supports six week teacher training course
5. Aoraki to offer high speed trades-training
6. Don’t leave Christchurch to train trades on its own

Happy Pink Shirt Day

Pink Shirt Day aims to show that bullying is not OK and we will not tolerate it. By encouraging the people of New Zealand to wear a Pink Shirt on 14 April 2011 we can help to raise awareness of bullying and show the massive number of people who support taking a stance against bullying and believe that bullying should not be tolerated anywhere no matter what the reasons or circumstances are. We often think of bullying as a school problem, but it is also far too common in workplaces.

Other news

TEU members at Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT) have ratified a new single employer collective agreement.

The Education Amendment Bill (No. 4), which last night passed its first reading in Parliament, brings changes to the oversight of private training establishments (PTEs) involved in export education, says tertiary education ministerSteven Joyce. The bill aims to give NZQA stronger powers to monitor, investigate and enforce the compliance of PTEs and raises the threshold for PTE registration.

Helen Kelly, President of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions provides a comprehensive account of one of last year’s most contentious industrial disputes, the Hobbit film dispute between Warner Brothers and actors who belonged to Actors Equity union.

La Salle University has suspended Jack Rappaport, a statistics professor at its business school, amid an investigation of allegations that he hired strippers to perform lap dances during an extra credit seminar he held on “the application of Platonic and Hegelian ethics to business,” – Inside Higher Ed

Malawian authorities have indefinitely closed two campuses following protests by students and lecturers aimed at pushing for the restoration of academic freedom. The action has seen three academics fired and 17 students arrested – University World News

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TEU Tertiary Update is published weekly on Thursdays and distributed freely to members of the Tertiary Education Union and others. You can subscribe to Tertiary Update by email or feed reader. Back issues are available on the TEU website. Direct inquiries should be made to Stephen Day.

TEU Office, on the Massey Turitea campus.Monday 13 December, from 4.15 onwardsDrinks and nibbles provided

TEU national women’s officer will speak briefly on Pay and Employment Equity.

TEU is the small building with no number on the attached map at E7, located between D7 No. 1, 2 (HR) & D7 No. 3 Geoffrey Peren Building.  In front of the Geoffrey Peren Building is a staff car park and to the side of the barrier arm is the sign for the office and steps leading down to it.

The Prime Minister told parliamentary correspondent Paki Taunuhia that demands by the Tertiary Education Union for workers be allowed to negotiate collectively for fair pay and conditions had undermined the viability not just of the wānanga but tertiary education throughout the country.

The deal to save the wānanga will give it a special tax rebate, a discount for importing overseas students who would not otherwise have been able to study at the wānanga and the government has also agreed to pass a law removing employment rights from all union members and turning them into independent contractors.

In a special tourism tie-in Wānanga students will be required to wear modified traditional Māori clothing and sing waiata at Auckland International Airport arrival gates.

Mr Taunuhia says the country is lucky to have a Prime Minister with such acumen and business negotiation experience.

“Who knows where the Wānanga might have gone if the Prime Minister had not intervened.”

Thanks to Tara Hunt at Flickr for  the photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/missrogue/2061336958/

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Collective Employment Agreement

Pānui Tauhokohoko #2 ~ 8 September 2010

E ngā māreikura me ngā whatukura o Te Hautū Kahurangi o Aotearoa, tēnā anō rā koutou katoa.  He hōnore he korōria, he maungaroa ki te whenua, he whakaaro pai ki ngā tāngata katoa.  Mihia ki ngā mate, haere i te ara tiatia, heketia ngā rangi tūhāhā, haere i te tātai arorangi.  Mihia ki a tatou ngā iwi kua mahue iho nei i a ratou ki te ao tūroa.  Mihia hoki ki te Kīngi Tūheitia, tana hoa rangatira, tona pāpā a Whatumoana, ā, tae atu ki Te Kāhui Ariki whānui.  Pai mārire ki a tātou.

Ngā kaupapa

The kaupapa of bargaining update #2 is to:

1. inform you that your TEU bargaining team[1] commenced negotiations for your new collective employment agreement (CEA) with the employer (Te Wānanga o Aotearoa) on 19 and 20 August in Kirikiriroa;
2. advise you of the respective claims and position at the conclusion of negotiation talks; and
3. get your feedback before 27 September.

Outstanding claims/issues

Te pūtea – when and for how long?

We raised the following three proposals (including a 3 month lead in to salary increases for union members only from 1 October 2010 and we also indicated that we are prepared to consider this as a lump sum across the board):

1. 2.5% increase for a 12 month (from 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011) CEA;
2. 4.0 % increase for a 2 year (from 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2012) CEA; or
3. 2.5% for 2011 and an increase no less than 2.0% based on CPI[2] for 2012.

These increases would apply to personal salaries and all salaries and allowances provided for in the CEA including the minimums in Schedule 2.

The employer is considering these options but rejected our claim for increases to take effect from 1 October 2010 as they saw it as a “union only benefit”.  They offered a 1.2% increase on personal salaries only from 1 January 2011.  This does not entail an increase in salary ranges set out in Schedule 2, any other salary rates, or allowances.  And for the second year the employer affirmed to negotiate only on personal salaries.  They also wish to remove any linkage to Schedule 2 and have the CEA not contain any minimum salaries.  We have rejected these proposals subject to consultation with you our members.

Coverage

The employer wants to exclude some managers (Kaiāko Matua and Kaiārahi Matua [Rohe]) as they see there is a conflict of interest.  We have rejected and will continue to reject this proposal.  It makes no sense to us and we want all, except HR and Senior Managers, covered by the CEA.

Extra duties allowance

We sought an allowance for relief of staff who have been unexpectedly and temporarily absent after 3 days and with no relief staff arrangements.  Staff providing cover shall receive an extra duties allowance until relief is no longer required.  The employer rejected this but is prepared to discuss and put in place policies and procedures to address the problem.  We have indicated that we would consider withdrawing our claims subject to being clear what the policies and procedures are.

Te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga allowance

We claimed recognition of Te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga skills by a minimum allowance of $2000 pa where it is not already built into the salary and position.  The employer has strongly rejected this claim, saying that it’s already recognised in salary and that the Wānanga currently pays a premium to people who have, and are required, to utilise these skills and knowledge.

We persisted with our claim as there are members of ours who are not being recognised for these skills and knowledge.

Withdrawn and agreed claims

In light of the discussion, and with a view to get a settlement, we withdrew our claims (for salary steps, a joint salary review process, tangihanga leave, and redundancy/restructuring enhancements) and agreed to three employer claims that had minor (non substantial) wording and numbering changes.

He aha ō koutou whakaaro?

We would like to know what you think, especially about the union members only claim (point 1 above) and the other 3 points.  What would it take for you to tautoko and vote yes to a ratification settlement?  What is your bottom line in terms of a percentage increase and claims?  What would you take action over (e.g. go on strike to achieve) if it came to the crunch?

If you have any whakaaro or pātai please contact Russell Taylor (http://scr.im/russellt / 027 444-2894), Lee Cooper (http://scr.im/leecooper / 021 533-410), or your hoa mahi on the bargaining team before noon on Monday 27 September.  Please also attend the member meetings being held in rohe where we have larger numbers of members.

What next?

We remain optimistic about progressing negotiations along when we meet again in Pōneke on 28 September at the TEU national office.

We also hope that a hui requested by your TEU President, Dr Tom Ryan, with the Pouhere, Bentham Ohia, goes ahead regarding the bigger picture i.e. reported 1100 EFTS reduction and funding cuts (this hui is not about what we are negotiating in the CEA).

The bargaining team recommends that they be authorised to continue to pursue the claims as outlined, to reject the employer’s proposals not already agreed, and to make a recommendation to settle that reflect, in their judgement, the best deal possible.

Any settlement recommendation will be subject to your discussing, considering, and voting.  Ratification of a settlement will be via e-ballot of each member accompanied by meetings where we can arrange them on campuses where we have larger numbers of members.

E noho ora mai koutou, nā tō koutou rōpū whakahaere kirimana

[2] Consumer Price Index http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_price_index

Bentham Ohia, the pouhere at the Wānanga o Aoteaora, is advising staff to concentrate on ensuring that tauira are enrolled in the right programme, that they graduate, and, where possible, that they pathway onto a higher level programme.

This advice follows news that the Tertiary Education Commission will be releasing rankable data on each tertiary education institution, including rates of successful course and qualification completions, student progressions to higher levels of study, and proportions of students retained in study.

The Wānanga is responding to new government policy that makes 5 percent of overall funding contestable, based on how each institution performs against these criteria. The Wānanga believes that it will meet the required standards, but nevertheless is warning staff to focus on getting potential students into programmes they are most likely to graduate from.

TEU national president Dr Tom Ryan says that te Wānanga is responding logically to the incentives and pressures the government is putting upon it. “I’m sure that other institutions will be doing the same thing, encouraging staff to look very carefully at how and where they are enrolling students.”

“But there also are dangers with such approaches. As the stakes are raised through public league tables and even higher levels of contestable funding, potential students from demographic groups that are known to have lower success rates may find themselves being discouraged from enrolling,” said Dr Ryan.

“It would be a shame if the government’s reforms leads to a situation where it becomes harder, rather than easier, for young people from non-standard or less privileged backgrounds to get started in tertiary education.”

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Ministry shrinks, 100 staff to lose jobs
2. Minister explains cuts to refugee and migrant grants
3. Lincoln-Telford merger in minister’s hands
4. Massey cleaners challenge being sacked

Other news

Just over a quarter of the staff in the University of Otago’s design department will lose their jobs, the university says. In a statement on Tuesday, the university said there would be an overall reduction of 5.5 full-time equivalent staff – 3.8 academic positions and 1.7 general staff positions – Otago Daily Times

The CTU determination to stick by workers unfairly dismissed under the 90 day law delivered results this week when the Employment Court found young pharmacy worker Heather Smith had been unjustifiably dismissed by her employer. But the court also said that the employer’s failure to treat her in good faith or to comply with her employment agreement gave her several grounds for compensation. Heather Smith’s case was highlighted recently by the CTU and is available on YouTube at www.youtube.com/NZCTU

A year of belt tightening has seen Witt post its first surplus in seven years. The surplus of $1.2 million was an improvement of almost $4m from the polytech’s 2008 loss. Chief executive Richard Handley both said “The much improved cash position has enabled us to undertake a modest but well overdue campus development programme” – Taranaki Daily News

The Ministry of Education has released a report exploring what digital information literacy is and how it could be most effectively dealt with in tertiary education. It identifies methods for developing adults’ digital skills and capabilities, and for understanding how these contribute to lifelong learning. The report’s key findings are that having dedicated time, institutional support, and the opportunity to experiment with a range of ICT tools were essential for developing digital information literacy. The research showed that this could be achieved in a relatively short and intensive period of professional development, and that this could result in significant changes to participants’ digital information behaviour and skills. – Education Counts

The British University and College Union says that a minister’s advice to students to lower their university ambitions makes a mockery of deputy prime minister Nick Clegg’s pledge to encourage social mobility. The universities minister, David Willetts, was under fire last week after telling students to lower their sights and apply to ‘less competitive’ universities. UCU said it was astounded at the coalition government’s ‘insulting’ response to students hit by the crisis over university places – UCU

Australian staff seeking pay rises at more than half the country’s universities have taken more than 50 days of industrial action. More unrest is threatened as they fight for pay increases of 16 per cent to 18 per cent over their four year agreement periods. The National Tertiary Education Union yesterday was to give formal notice of a work ban during the University of NSW’s open day next month, with the University of Newcastle expected to face the same. This follows last week’s 24-hour stoppage at the University of South Australia and rolling stoppages at the University of Queensland – The Australian

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TEU Tertiary Update is published weekly on Thursdays and distributed freely to members of the Tertiary Education Union and others. You can subscribe to Tertiary Update by email or feed reader. Back issues are available on the TEU website. Direct inquiries should be made to Stephen Day, email: http://scr.im/stephenday

Thanks to Phillip Capper @ Flickr for the image

Prior to the negotiations an employment court decision had found that workers at IHC were eligible to be paid if they were required as part of their job to sleep overnight at their place of work.

Likewise many academic staff at the wānanga are required to stay overnight on noho. Teaching delivery often involves visits to marae that begin on Fridays and end on Sundays. Prior to these negotiations, and the employment court decision, employees had entitlements like time in lieu for noho. Now they will be paid a $125 allowance in addition to other entitlements for each night that they are required to stay at the noho.

TEU te pou tuarā, Lee Cooper, says the negotiations, which began in October last year, were markedly different from previous years, with the employers committing to treating TEU members equally to union members from the wānanga union, TUIA.

“Having TEU as an independent external union working to improve employment conditions at the wānanga is important for quality of education. Fairer working conditions means the wānanga can better recruit and retain its kaimahi, and that’s a benefit for both tauira and kaimahi.”