Students at the universities of Auckland and Victoria are planning to protest today’s budget and impending to cuts to student allowances.

The student action group ‘We are the University’ at both universities are holding student association and TEU endorsed protests.

At Auckland University, over a thousand students have said that they will attend a ‘student strike‘ outside the library at 1.00pm.

At Victoria University of Wellington students are planning to march to Parliament from their Kelburn campus at 12 noon.

We Are the University Auckland says the government is planning to attack students with this year’s budget:

“It will affect current students, ex-students and potential future students by limiting allowances to the first four years of study or 200 weeks (with no exceptions for longer degrees or postgrad study), by freezing the parental income threshold to get the allowance (so even fewer students can get it), and increasing the repayment rate from 10 percent to 12 percent. We have had enough of the short sighted, mindless politics of austerity that limit who gets access to tertiary education and that see us paying rent to a generation that had everything they are taking from us.”

TEU will have analysis and comment on Budget 2012, as well as links to coverage of tertiary education-related and employment-related Budget news on its website.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. TEU rejects performance pay in education
2. Good employment law crucial to good vocational training
3. Time to reinvest universities’ million dollar surpluses back in staff
4. Insecure work rife in Australian universities

Other news

Campaigners are calling for a “living wage” in New Zealand, inspired by policies in United States cities and London. The Living Wage Aotearoa NZ campaign is drawing support from unions, churches, Pacific, women’s and community groups. Organiser Annie Newman of the Service and Food Workers Union said it was inspired by “living wage” policies governing council contracts in more than 140 US cities and in London, where the rate of £8.30 ($17.35) an hour is 37 percent above the legal minimum wage - The Herald

Tertiary Education Minister Stephen Joyce is defending the decision to decline loans to students failing their papers as “absolutely” the right one to make, despite targeting less than five per cent of the students it was expected to -Stuff

Tensions have escalated further in Montreal as Quebec’s legislature voted in favour of an emergency law, Bill 78, to end the 100 days of student strikes. The Bill pauses the current academic year at institutions affected by strikes; imposes steep fines for anyone who tries blocking access to an institution; and limits where, how, and for how long people can protest in Quebec. Critics blasted the bill as an affront to civil rights, an overreaction or ill-considered improvisation. Thousands stormed the streets of Montreal and Quebec City late Friday night to protest the bill’s passage -CBC/Radio-Canada

Millions of youth around the world have essentially given up looking for a job, warned the International Labour Organization (ILO) in a new report. The global youth unemployment rate (at 12.6 per cent in 2011) would be a full percentage point higher if it included the number of young people who have dropped out of the labour market, said the ILO in its “Global Employment Trends for Youth 2012″ report.  Of particular concern are young people who are neither in employment nor in education or training – known by the acronym NEET. If youth are economically inactive because they are in education or training, they invest in skills that may improve their future employability, but NEETs risk both labour market and social exclusion - ILO

TEU’s national secretary Sharn Riggs says this bodes well for collective agreement negotiations, which start soon at seven of New Zealand’s eight universities.

Victoria University reported a $14.5 million surplus (4.3 percent of revenue). AUT had a $9 million surplus (3.1 percent of revenue). The University of Auckland posted a $32 million surplus (3.5 percent of revenue) and the University of Otago had surplus of s $26 million, (4.5 percent of revenue). All except the University of Auckland are due to begin negotiations soon.

The University of Canterbury reported an overall loss of $115m (39 percent of revenue) once costs relating to the earthquakes were accounted for. Lincoln, Waikato and Massey have not published their annual reports yet.

AUT, Otago and Victoria all reported surpluses that are higher than the three percent target that the Tertiary Education Commission requires them generate.

“University vice-chancellors consistently say that New Zealand needs to invest it its university employees, and that their pay and employment conditions need to be internationally competitive,” said Ms Riggs. “Now that they are in a stronger financial position than the government requires of them, they are in the ideal position to invest in solving the problem they themselves have identified and decried.”

My name is Nicki Wilford and I am the new TEU organiser for Victoria University of Wellington (except for the Faculty of Education where my colleague Phil Dyhrberg is the organiser) and Whitireia Community Polytechnic.

I have  worked at VUW before as the education coordinator for VUWSA representing students for over three years from 2002 till 2005 and worked for VUW in 2006.

I  was previously a union organiser for NZEI , the union that represents primary teachers, principals, support Staff and early childhood teachers for four years.

While I  am based three days a week in Education House on Willis St,  I will be running an appointment day on Thursdays at the Kelburn Campus in my office there 20 Kelburn Parade, and I am happy to travel to Te Aro and Pipitea Campuses  and the School of Law by appointment.

The best ways to contact me are by email, nicki.wilford@teu.ac.nz or phone 04 801 4730 or 027 444 2893.

Notice: vice-chancellor forums with staff

As you are probably aware the vice-chancellor is running  a series of staff forums on 9,10 and 11 May. We would like to make sure that the questions you think are important for the future of the unviersity are asked at these forums.

Please come along  to one of the pre-meetings planned to discuss what YOU think those questions should be.

We are meeting at:

1. Kelburn Campus this Thursday 26 April at noon in Cotton 228, and
2. Pipitea Campus on Wednesday 2 May at 12.30 in the Railway West Wing 128

It would be great if you could get to one of these meetings.

Regards,

Nicki Wilford

Weltec was required at the time to disclose in its Annual Report that the metro polytechnics’ fee to Saunders Unsworth ($33,000) because the institution’s government appointed chairperson, Roger Sowry, is also a partner at Saunders Unsworth. Mr Sowry is also the government appointed chairperson at Whitireia polytechnic and a former National Party minister.

If passed, the new bill will set up a register of lobbyists and a lobbying code of ethics. It is modelled on a public disclosure regime used in Canada.

The register will require any paid lobbyists acting on behalf of a third party for the purposes of lobbying government or representatives to be on a register of lobbyists, and to comply with its provision. Failure to register would be an offence.

Returns of lobbying activity will be filed with the Auditor-General and will disclose who is undertaking lobbying activity, who is being lobbied and what they are being lobbied about. It will be an offence to engage in lobbying activity and to not file returns with the Auditor-General.

TEU national president Dr Sandra Grey says it is disturbing that large public tertiary education institutions currently spend tens of thousands of dollars of public money so that a private lobbyist can get them access to the minister of tertiary education.

“Changing the law to shine some light on who is engaging private lobbyists is important as it would show how tertiary institutions, among other publicly-funded institutions, are attempting to buy power and influence.”

Popular Kiwiblog blogger, David Farrar, published earlier this week allegations that the university was changing the term of some of its fixed term agreements, encouraging academics to retire early and return on fixed term agreements,  and deliberately not employing staff who during the period that will negatively influence the June 2012 census.

TEU national president Dr Sandra Grey says the allegations fit with similar stories TEU organisers have heard from staff working at other universities.

“We know of staff being persuaded to resign on the understanding they will be rehired after the PBRF round is completed, staff put on fixed term agreements to avoid them counting for PBRF measurements, staff being offered shorter fixed term agreements to avoid counting in PBRF measurements, and potential staff not being employed to avoid them counting towards PBRF scores.”

“These cases represent an outrageous breach of people’s employment rights, and also make a farce of the PBRF as a funding mechanism,” said Dr Grey.

TEU is calling for the Tertiary Education Commission to launch a nationwide investigation into universities altering people’s terms of employment so as to rort their PBRF ranking.

Tertiary Education Commission spokeswoman Kate Richards told the Dominion Post the commission’s board is reviewing findings from a statutory audit into the PRBF with a summary expected to be publicly released shortly.

She said this year’s PBRF quality evaluation was expected to proceed as planned this year with the Education Ministry leading a policy review of the PBRF from mid-2012, which will include engagement with business, researchers and tertiary providers on options for the model’s future.

Employment negotiations for thousands of university staff at seven of New Zealand’s eight universities will begin in three months’ time, and union members are already working out what the main issues they need to see addressed to improve their working life.

One of the biggest issues facing many staff is increasing workloads because of staff numbers not keeping pace with student numbers. TEU members across all seven universities will be claiming employment protection for staff whose workload increases because of redundancies or restructuring.

The nationwide claim says if within six months of a review, restructuring or management of change process concluding, employees believe that their workloads are excessive, or that staffing levels are not sufficient, they may request a review of their workload. If the review finds that workloads are not safe, equitable, or reasonable the university must take appropriate steps to remedy the situation.

TEU university academic vice-president John Prince says the short-term effect of reviews is stress and job losses, but the long-term effect, if reviews are poorly conceived, is increasing workloads.

“We want an assurance that the many reviews currently taking place are not just about cutting staff numbers and shifting all the existing work onto those staff who remain.”

Employment negotiations will begin at the end of June for staff at the universities of AUT, Canterbury, Lincoln, Otago, Massey, Victoria and Waikato.

If you have a workload story to support TEU’s negotiations, leave a comment below.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Restructuring affecting 500 workers
2. New super ministry to manage commission
3. Farewell Ray Fargher
4. Auckland ports back down on contracting out
5. Aussie tutors join the ‘Precariat’ workforce
6. International trade agreement akin to asset sales

Other news

There is a nasty narrative creeping into the national conversation New Zealand is having about education these days, that of the superhero teacher. If you’re unfamiliar with the plot line, it goes something like this. There is a massive achievement gap in academic achievement and this gap is because of bad schools. Since teachers are the most important things in schools, if the schools aren’t delivering then it must be because teachers aren’t delivering. Enter the superhero teacher - Teaching the Teacher

A Cambridge student was suspended from the university for two-and-a-half years today for his part in a protest during a speech by the Universities Minister David Willetts. The “unprecedented” sentence handed down to Owen Holland, a PhD student in the Faculty of English, came on the same day as students marched in London and walked out of institutions across the country to demand Mr Willetts’ resignation - The Independent

A private computer training institute with hundreds of students has gone bust owing more than $8.3 million in tax, penalties and interest. Computer Power (NZ) Ltd, which runs Computer Power Institute campuses in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland, was put into liquidation in the High Court at Wellington this week. The institute has about 750 students including about 150 international students. The 47 staff have been paid until the end of the month - Dominion Post

An Indian immigration consultancy claiming to operate in NZ (and actually operating in India) has used a murdered US student’s image in their marketing (seemingly lifted from the Internet). It works with, among others, Canterbury, AUT, BOPP and Unitec - ED Blog

TAFE has hit the wall in Victoria’s open training market, with unprecedented private college growth relegating the public provider into minority status and throwing its financial viability into question. Details from an unpublished quarterly report from Skills Victoria, which shows that TAFEs now have less than half of the government-supported enrolments, emerged the day after Prime Minister Julia Gillard said states needed to protect their TAFEs -The Australian

The Herald reported yesterday that Victoria University was one of only five organisations so far to express an interest in running a private charter school.

Dr Grey says Victoria’s expression of interest to run a charter school raises worrying questions about what direction the university has for education.

“If it has innovative new ideas for education, why is it not already teaching and promoting those ideas in our existing public schools through research and teacher education at its own Faculty of Education.”

“New Zealand has a high quality public education system, from early childhood right through to adult and tertiary education. One of its strengths is that everyone, no matter where they come from, has the same opportunity to high quality teaching and learning. In contrast, charter schools, like many other private education providers, are limited and divisive. They take the focus away from improving education for all New Zealanders to focus instead on rewarding private, for-profit companies. Victoria should not involve itself in legitimising this attack on quality public education,” said Dr Grey.

For more information:

Dr Sandra Grey, TEU national president, 021 844 176 or 04 801 5098
Stephen Day, TEU communications officer, 021 2900 734 or 04 801 4792

http://www.teu.ac.nz

TEU organiser Michael Gilchrist says forced redundancies have increased in frequency in the last year.

"These redundancies have lacked a coherent rationale and genuine consultation and have been demoralising and destructive to both staff and students in the programmes affected."

At meetings in August and September TEU members resolved to meet with senior management as soon as possible, to discuss the university’s strategic and investment plans.

They said normal staff turnover should provide ample opportunities for re-shaping academic programmes, without the need for forced redundancies. They also resolved to explore options such as ‘grey-listing’ any vacancies created as a result of forced redundancies.

Grey-listing is asking academics at other universities not to apply for any advertised jobs at Victoria University during the dispute.

TEU wrote to the vice-chancellor Pat Walsh, on 14 October, seeking to meet to discuss its concerns about forced redundancies. A meeting with a delegation from the university’s senior management team should occur early next week ahead of meetings with members scheduled later in the week to discuss their response.

Because there are no alternatives on offer in 2012, this now means that students wanting a second chance at higher education in the Wellington region will have no options available to them, said VUWSA president Seamus Brady.

“Victoria (along with other universities that have cut pre-degree courses) risks creating a negative image amongst New Zealand’s most marginalised groups. These groups should have the right to ‘get amongst the best’ and should not be deterred because of educational inequalities they have experienced that may have been beyond their control.”

VUWSA believes the closure of the CUP programme will significantly deter many students from higher education.

Mr Brady said the closure of the CUP programme clearly signals to prospective students that unless their secondary schooling experience has prepared them for university, or they have a degree already, higher education will simply be out of reach for them.

“This has the potential of creating an ‘elitist’ conception of university. It also has the potential of denying the many attributes that ‘mature’ students bring to the campus in particular. In many senses it narrows the education path of people to a predefined, rather archaic way of looking at education.”

The letter informs staff that the employer will be initiating a Performance Improvement Plan with them.

“This is a targeted attack on the individual recipient, aimed at putting direct pressure on them with regard to their future employment,” said TEU organiser Michael Gilchrist.

One version of the letter implies that the staff concerned have “no or minimal” research activity and states that there is a “financial and reputational risk to the university in knowingly retaining such a staff member”. The letter claims that PBRF funding is based on the ranking of institutions. “…A shift of one place [in the university's PBRF ranking] could gain or lose about $3 million and the retention of one research inactive staff member could result in the loss of one place”, the letter says.

“This claim is every bit as absurd and inaccurate as it sounds,” said Mr Gilchrist. “Ranking is irrelevant. The impact of one R rated staff member on funding for a tertiary institution will in fact be very small – nominally a few thousand dollars but less likely than that when other variables are taken into account.”

TEU has reminded managers that they can only initiate a Performance Management Plan when a staff member has ‘demonstrably and persistently failed to meet an objective’ in their Performance, Development and Career Planning Process (PDCP) document. “This simply reflects basic rules of fair process in employment. Staff have a right to know where the goalposts are located, especially as they strive to produce quality research under the pressure of the impending PBRF assessment.”