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Tertiary institutions could suffer from unfair employment laws

TEU deputy secretary Nanette Cormack is warning that proposed new employment laws could, if misused by employers, have a significant impact in the tertiary education sector.

"The 90 day fire-at-will law that the government wants to extend to cover large workplaces is inconsistent with existing trial and confirmation periods that already exist in some polytechnics and universities," said Ms Cormack.

"For instance, many academics need, as part of their career progression, to move between institutions as they develop their skills and knowledge. Under the new law, each time they do that they will put themselves at risk of being fired without reason."

"And will our universities, which employ around half their academics internationally, still be able to attract such staff if they think they might get the sack within their first few months in the country?"

Ms Cormack also says that up to now there has been a convention that TEU and other union organisers have enjoyed relatively open access to tertiary institutions.

"This has contributed to a comparatively harmonious employment relationship where employees know they can access independent professional advice efficiently and safely. But the government's proposed changes could end that practice, leading to problems festering and exploding rather than getting resolved."

Requiring a sick leave certificate for just one days illness is also not practical in an a tertiary education setting, says Ms Cormack.

"When you are in a lecture theatre with hundreds of students who all share the same 'flu virus, you can be sure that there will be more than a day's wait to see the local or campus GP the following day."

Ms Cormack says that TEU members are all encouraged to attend the Fairness at Work rallies in major centres on 21 August. The rallies aim to stop the proposed changes which, if implemented, will take away workers' rights, remove protections, cut pay, reduce holidays, and diminish access to sick leave.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. 2010 Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards


2. Physio numbers to be cut


3. Dangers in linking funding to performance


4. Otago Uni still to cut teacher educator numbers


5. Possible changes to Te Reo funding


6. Gender pay gap widens


7. Other news

2010 Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards

The Ako Aotearoa Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards 2010 ceremony was hosted by minister Steven Joyce at Parliament last night. Overall winner from the eleven finalists was Marty Vreede, senior lecturer in printmaking at UCOL Whanganui. Recipient of the inaugural award for teaching in a kaupapa Māori context was Te Kahautu Maxwell, of University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato.  Read more about the awards and the award recipients (who included several active TEU members) at the Ako Aotearoa website.

Physio numbers to be cut

TVNZ reported this week that the government is looking at cutting the number of people training to be physiotherapists.

The decision is likely because patient part-charges for ACC treatment introduced last year have led to a significant number of physiotherapists being made redundant. ACC says that there has been a 33 percent drop in people going to physiotherapists since the part-charges were introduced.

The ACC minister, Nick Smith, told TVNZ that fewer jobs may mean fewer students.

"I think we need to re-jig the numbers we are training in physio to those that are long-term sustainable."

Now there is concern at Otago University's School of Physiotherapy about what the falls could mean for the 120 physiotherapy students it teaches each year. Prior to the ACC changes New Zealand had a physiotherapist shortage.

Professor David Baxter of the Otago school told TVNZ that there now are fewer employment opportunities for physiotherapy graduates, and that many of last year's Otago graduates went overseas for work, which he said could be the start of a trend.

TEU national president Dr Tom Ryan warned that unthought-through interventions by the government in the industrial sector can have distorting effects on professional education and employment.

"Already we can see that recent changes in ACC are resulting in redundancies and emigration for physiotherapists; cutbacks in training intakes could well follow. Meanwhile, the proposed new law requiring a doctor’s note for anyone missing work for a day may have a very different impact, putting unnecessary pressure on general practitioners, and requiring more to be trained or imported from abroad"

Dangers in linking funding to performance

"The government needs to be careful when it links tertiary education funding to performance that it improves the performance of institutions rather than shutting out students who are less likely to succeed."

That is the view of TEU national president Dr Tom Ryan, following an announcement this week by tertiary education minister Steven Joyce of a new funding model which will see tertiary education providers receive a proportion of their funding based on student performance.

From 2012, five percent of tertiary education institutions’ funding will based on their numbers of course completions, qualification completions, progressions to higher study, and numbers of students retained in study.

Mr Joyce says this approach will provide financial incentives for providers to continually work to improve the educational performance of their students.

"Initially, performance linked funding is about targeting the outliers - those institutions that stand out as poor performers in certain areas."

Dr Ryan says that the minister needs to make sure the onus of his new funding model is on tertiary education institutions to provide comprehensive pastoral care, and high quality advice and academic planning. Otherwise there is a danger that institutions will seek to lift their funding by excluding students they think are less likely to succeed, or that pressure will be put on teachers who have tough academic standards.

"We are used to performance funding in the tertiary education sector," said Dr Ryan. "But we believe funding needs to support the right type of performance – helping and supporting students to learn, rather than risk New Zealand losing good staff and potential new students."

The Tertiary Education Commission will be discussing details of the model with tertiary providers this month.

Otago Uni still plans to cut teacher educator numbers

The Otago Daily Times reports that a revised restructuring proposal for the University of Otago College of Education will still see significant job cuts among teacher educators.

The university announced in May that it planned to cut 23 teacher educator positions and four general staff positions. It said the move was designed to save money and increase the number of "research-active staff".

TEU strongly opposed the proposal, with national president Dr Tom Ryan saying to a rally at the time:

"Staff at the college of education are the meat in a particularly brutal and cynical sandwich, caught between Otago’s desire to be the number-one PBRF university in New Zealand, and the impact of the government reneging on Tripartite funding to universities."

Dr Ryan says it is grossly unfair that many of the college’s staff now face forced redundancy, given that they were employed before the 2007 merger with the university precisely because of their experience and excellence as teaching practitioners.

After considering submissions, the university decided in June to rewrite the proposal.

TEU organiser Kris Smith said the revised version, announced to staff this week, has not changed significantly the number of job cuts or where they would fall.

Staff were not happy about the revised proposal, Ms Smith told the Otago Daily Times.

"Morale is very low. Teacher educators are still being targeted."

The university had called for further submissions by August 16.

Possible changes to Te Reo funding

Māori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples has announced a ministerial review of the Māori Language Strategy and Sector. Dr Sharples estimates that Government expenditure on Te Reo Māori is $226 million.

"However, expenditure is scattered across different agencies such as - Te Puni Kōkiri; Te Māngai Pāho, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori; Ministry of Education; Ministry of Science, Research and Technology; Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage; and Ministry of Economic Development.  I doubt there is one Ministry or agency that is not touched by Te Reo Māori in some way."

"We need a more coordinated approach. We have a Māori Language Strategy that is not up-to-date and has largely not been implemented. This has to change."

Education consultation Dave Guerin says the review, which will be supported by Te Puni Kōkiri and will be completed early next year, could affect tertiary education funding for Te Reo Māori courses.

Te Pou Tuarā o TEU, Lee Cooper, welcomes the review, saying that while it is not clear how provision of Te Reo Māori may be affected at individual tertiary education institutions, a more coordinated approach should benefit the language as a whole.

"A more systematic approach is needed given that current government expenditure on Te Reo Māori is 'scattered' across seven different agencies."

Mr Cooper notes that the independent review panel has significant representation from current and former employees of universities and polytechnics, which is vital considering the important roles that tertiary sector plays in teaching and researching of Te Reo.

Gender pay gap widens

The just released June Quarterly Employment Survey shows the average pay gap between men and women has widened in the last quarter to 12.81 percent, up half a percent since March.

Two months ago the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Pansy Wong, claimed that the gender pay gap had narrowed since her Government took office

TEU women's vice president Dr Sandra Grey says the government closed the Pay and Employment Equity unit, saying its work was done.  Now the gap is widening, what will the government do?

"Pay and employment equity reviews, including those in the polytechnic sector, not only provided evidence of the gender pay gap but some reasons as to why this gap persists."

Reviews in the polytechnic sector in 2009 show that the pay gap ranges from 6 percent to 32 percent. Equity issues such as a gendered difference in starting salaries, fewer training and development opportunities, and less access to committees and key decision-making fora, have all been identified as factors potentially contributing to the gender pay gap in the ITP sector. All these matters can and should be addressed.”

Massey University is currently undertaking a pay and employment equity review, Victoria is about to commence a limited review of two particular groups of workers, and both Canterbury and AUT have indicated they will undertake a pay and employment equity review next year.

"This is recognition that the gender pay gap needs to be addressed within the sector. If tertiary institutions wish to recruit and retain women they need to show they are committed to ensuring pay and employment equity for women." said Dr Grey.

Other news

Any removal of neurosurgery from Dunedin Hospital has the potential to develop into the "death of tertiary services by a thousand cuts", Dunedin School of Medicine dean Dr John Adams says. "We absolutely depend on a vibrant teaching hospital for teaching and research purposes." – Otago Daily Times

The just released Labour Cost Index (Salary and Wage Rates) statistics for the June 2010 quarter show that those working in the well unionised Education and Training sector continue to survive the recession better than other workers, with salary and wage rates (including overtime) up 3.3 percent compared to a rise of just 1.6 percent for all workers. Again, one of the most significant reasons for movement in pay rates, according to surveyed employers, was the existence of a collective employment agreement in the workplace

TVNZ's Close Up says students are the key to New Zealand's future, but universities are slamming their doors on thousands of 'wannabe students'. The show speaks with several students who have missed out on the chance to study this year as well as NZUSA co-president David Do and AUT vice-chancellor, Derek McCormack.

When Rio de Janeiro became the first Brazilian state to adopt quotas for Afro-Brazilian students in institutions of higher education, in 2002, black activists hoped that the country was finally coming to terms with the bitter legacy of slavery. But just eight years later, affirmative-action policies—which have since been adopted by scores of other Brazilian universities on behalf of the country's most disadvantaged groups—could be ruled unconstitutional by the country's Federal Supreme Court – The Chronicle of Higher Education

The British government is enthusiastic for two-year university degrees as a means to cut fee and student-support costs in higher education.  However, a newly released report says they could "disadvantage UK graduates in the global market" and prevent academics from pursuing research. –Times Higher Education Supplement

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