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Massey to cut general staff jobs

Massey University is proposing to cut 53 jobs across its three campuses in Palmerston North, Wellington, and Albany. Under the proposals, 120 current positions, mostly general staff, including computer support staff, administrators, teaching consultants and student advisors, would be cut and 67 new positions created.

Most current staff whose positions are cut will be able to apply and compete for the new positions. As with the University of Canterbury's Project STAR, the proposals also aim to bring a range of services currently managed in different parts of the university under a single management structure.

This week staff unions were notified of the proposal, as required under the Massey University Collective Employment Agreement. The 201 staff members whose roles are affected by the proposal – either because their roles are to be disestablished or reporting lines changed – received letters yesterday outlining the proposed changes.

The university now will begin a period of consultation on these proposals, which will end on 18 August. Massey  anticipates announcing its final decisions by about 23 August.

The Tertiary Education Union's branch president Harvey Jones says that the cuts are a result of ongoing government funding cuts:

"Unfortunately, continuing government underfunding appears to be driving the need for this restructuring."

"Many of my friends and colleagues have just received letters from the university saying that they could lose their jobs.  These people have put their hearts and careers into the university and helping educate Massey students.”

"It would be a travesty if government just watches from the sidelines at a time when we need to be helping more young New Zealanders get an education and contribute to their communities and New Zealand’s economy."

Mr Jones is concerned that Massey has signalled that there will be more restructuring with the potential for further job losses in other areas, such as academic services and administration.

"Staff in these areas now face a further period of job uncertainty, " he said.

Over the next seven weeks TEU will be working with members affected under the current Massey University proposals, in the hope of reducing the number of jobs cut and to assist those members who choose to do so, to move into new positions.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Joyce wants level playing field for funding PTEs


2. Funding falls as inflation blooms


3. Parents gain tax reward at Auckland Uni


4. More students get allowances


5. Other news

Joyce wants level playing field for funding PTEs

The minister for tertiary education, Steven Joyce, used a meeting with the Education and Science Committee last week to suggest he was looking at increasing funding to Private Training Establishments (PTEs) at the expense of public tertiary education providers.

Ed Insider reported last week that Mr Joyce told the committee that he wanted to be sure that PTEs were doing their job well, and that he also wanted to level the playing field by addressing funding anomalies. He said that the rationale for the 9.5 percent lower funding that PTEs receive compared to public tertiary education providers, was "financially illiterate" and "irrelevant".

Since 2002 PTEs have received 9.5 percent less funding tuition subsidy rates per student than other tertiary institutions. This reduction was intended to reflect their lack of a 'capital component'.

The Labour Party's new tertiary education spokesperson, Grant Robertson, told Tertiary Update he hoped Mr Joyce's priority would be to support the public system, "which is struggling with increased demand and rising costs".

"PTEs have a role to play in our education system, but a strong public tertiary sector is the most important part of the future of tertiary education," Mr Robertson said.

The Green Party's tertiary education spokesperson, Gareth Hughes, said that Mr Joyce's statements come from an ideological background and are not in the best interests of kiwi students.

"It is a transfer of wealth to the private sector.  The government is not increasing funding to the tertiary education sector, but is still talking about taking money from the public sector and putting it towards private profit," said Mr Hughes.

Funding falls as inflation blooms

The Tertiary Education Commission has confirmed the student achievement component (SAC) funding rates for tertiary education institutions for this year and the next. The previously estimated SAC rates for 2010 were based on an estimated 2.5 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), but the newly confirmed SAC rates are lower, being based on only a 1.95 percent increase in the CPI.

However, NZIER is forecasting that CPI will be 5.1 percent for 2010-2011 and 2.7 percent for 2011-2012.

The SAC and Youth Guarantee rates for 2011 also have been set, following Budget 2010. The Youth Guarantee becomes a separate fund in 2011 . These have been calculated by increasing the 2010 SAC rates by 2.2 percent.

TEU national president Dr Tom Ryan says the fact that the rates don't appear to match inflation will continue to cause significant problems for tertiary institutions, their staff, and students.

"It's going to get harder for staff in tertiary institutions to continue to do the world class job they are doing when the government continues to lower the level of funding.  First we faced savage cuts from last year’s budget, and now the remaining pool of money is dwindling even further because of inflation ."

"Students' education will suffer if institutions continue to make budget cuts that don't have an academic purpose," said Dr Ryan.

Parents gain tax reward at Auckland Uni

The University of Auckland, with the support of the TEU, is introducing a voluntary salary sacrifice arrangement for staff who have children in any of its university-based early childhood education centres.

The initiative arose out of the earlier Women Returning to the Workforce Project, a joint project of the university's human resources and equity offices and the TEU.

A salary sacrifice arrangement is an arrangement between the university and a staff member whereby the staff member agrees to reduce his or her base salary in return for a university-based early childhood centre providing that staff member free childcare services equivalent in value to the amount of the reduction in the staff member’s pay.

Currently, employees who use the university’s early childhood education centres receive their annual salary from the university and PAYE tax is deducted from this amount. Then they pay their childcare fees directly to the early childhood centre from their net pay. Under a salary sacrifice arrangement the employee often will pay less tax and thus take home more pay.  For someone on a $50000 salary, with early childhood education fees of $5000, this arrangement could give them an annual saving in tax paid of approximately $1358.

TEU organiser Jane Adams said the initiative is a simple, practical way that the university can support parents and their families who work at the university.

Other developments from this project include the introduction of volunteer parental leave advisors who advise and support those women and their families who need information or assistance around parental leave matters; breast-feeding spaces and that women who have taken parental leave are not disadvantaged; the development of a 'Toolkit for combining Parenting and a Career'; and regular meetings of women which address different topics specific to combining parenting and career.

More students get allowances

Ministry of Education figures released yesterday show that the number of student allowance recipients rose by 26 percent between 2008 and 2009. The figure rose to more than 82,600 students, after having risen 5 percent each year between 2006 and 2008. The amount of government spending on allowances is the highest in almost 20 years.

The Ministry of Education said the increase was largely due to high unemployment, particularly for younger age-groups, due to the economic recession. The reduction of the parental income testing age to 24, and an increase to parental income thresholds, both contributed to increases in allowance recipients.

NZUSA co-president David Do agreed, saying the economic climate has hit both students and families hard.

"Lower parental incomes mean families are finding it more difficult to support students who may already be forced to live at home due to inadequate student support,” said Mr Do.

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce yesterday told Radio New Zealand that student numbers are likely to fall next year, due to changes to eligibility for student loans, new performance requirements for loans, and the fact that New Zealand is emerging from the recession.

NZUSA's other co-president Pene Delaney argued that increased spending on student loans would have positive academic effects.

"A 2008 Ministry of Education report, Educational achievements of student support recipients, found that those who receive student allowances do better academically and are twice as likely to achieve successful completion of their studies than those with no financial support. We would hope the Government views increased eligibility to allowances as a tool to increase student achievement," said Mr Delaney.

Other News

TEU members covered by the ITP MECA finally have a proposed terms of settlement for their collective employment agreement to ratify.  Union members are in the process of voting.

Massey University vice chancellor Steve Maharey told the National Council of Women Manawatu branch that he is concerned that not enough males are enrolling at university. Males make up only 39 per cent of the enrolments at Massey University, and Maharey said a societal shift might be needed to fix the growing gender gap – Manawatu Standard

The 2nd ITUC World Congress, taking place in Vancouver from 21–25 June, has closed with a firm resolve to push for the attainment of quality public services and education for all, as key parts of the strategy to exit the global economic crisis –Education International

A number of Aoraki Polytechnic courses could be scrapped or improved because of low completion rates, after the Tertiary Education Commission's move to publish performance data – Timaru Herald

TAFE Directors Australia is proposing a new type of higher education institution, in  between universities and TAFEs. The proposal suggests creating a new category of non-university institutions that would offer degrees at bachelor and masters level, in addition to vocational courses. –The Australian

Once dismissed as an American phenomenon too crass to imitate, fund raising is being embraced by Australian universities as key to their success –The Chronicle of Higher Education

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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: stephen.day@teu.ac.nz

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