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TEU saves Waikato arts jobs

A change proposal at Waikato’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences that was initially forecasting 17 or 18 redundancies has now been called off with nearly all staff keeping their jobs. After consultation, submissions from a range of interested parties, including TEU, and a few voluntary redundancies, the faculty was finally proposing last week to cut just 1.5 full time academic positions; a half time place in the School of Religious Studies and a senior lecturer from the School of Geography.

However, last Thursday TEU advised the three senior geography lecturers and their colleagues in the wider faculty that the union would be challenging aspects of the university's review because of the recent Massey University v Wrigley and Kelly employment court decision. TEU's deputy secretary, Nanette Cormack, suggested that Waikato University not proceed with its selection of one of the three lecturers for redundancy, as the decision was unlikely to comply with the recent employment court ruling.

Later the same day the dean of the faculty advised the three lecturers he had decided not to proceed with the planned selection process and the interviews scheduled for this Tuesday would be cancelled.

Instead, the dean is considering other possible ways in which the faculty and the geography/tourism programme can make savings.

Ms Cormack says it is an exciting victory for union members and shows how two union members' victory in one part of the country can help others in a different city.

"The result is many people still have their jobs, and Waikato retains some valuable and experienced staff. We're still working to save the one remaining job under threat, and we are hopeful we can," said Ms Cormack.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Five ITPs continue to resist their obligation to bargain
2. AUT profit at expense of students and staff
3. NatColl strike kick-starts negotiations
4. Rosette furore at Auckland graduation
5. Other news

Five ITPs continue to resist their obligation to bargain

Five polytechnic employers, Unitec, Northtec, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, Whitireia and Wintec, have informed TEU that they are appealing the recent Employment Court decision that determined that TEU was legally entitled to initiate for site-based collective agreements at each of the five polytechnics.

TEU has informed the employers’ lawyer that it will oppose the application for appeal. National industrial officer Irena Brorens is currently working on TEU's legal response, and is developing campaign resources.

"Union members and staff are meeting on Monday to finalise a plan, said Ms Brorens. "Union members at the five branches are sick of waiting. They have a legal right to negotiate a collective agreement in the form that they choose. Rather than sitting down to talk about important issues about pay, working conditions and quality education these five employers continue to hide from their responsibilities to negotiate with their own employees. They have dragged this on for too long."

TEU members at all five of the sites, plus the other ex-ITP MECA site, WITT have all voted twice that they want to negotiate site-based collective agreements rather than a new multi-employer collective agreement.

The TEU has reached an amicable settlement with WITT.

Ms Brorens says WITT's quick settlement shows the other employers' decision to appeal is a waste of public money, and more importantly it is a waste of time.

"Union members at these five polytechnics currently do not have a collective agreement because the employers have wasted so much time. New staff are not able to claim important working conditions because there are no collective agreements to join," said Ms Brorens.

AUT profits at expense of students and staff

Auckland University of Technology has just released annual report shows that student: staff ratios continue to rise. In 2008 there were fewer than 17 students for every full time academic staff member. By the end of 2010 there were nearly 20 students for each full time academic staff member.

TEU national president Sandra Grey says that for students an 18 percent increase in the student: staff ratio means one of two things:

"Either, students who are paying more fees can now expect 18 percent less time with their lecturers and tutors, or alternatively, they can expect to be taught by lecturers and tutors who are doing 18 percent more work than they were two years ago."

TEU branch president John Prince says he has had many comments from colleagues over the past two or three years concerned with the increase in staff sizes and subsequent increase in workloads and reduction in one-on-one time with students.

"It's hurting people's work-life balance."

Dr Grey says the combination of falling government funding for tertiary education and tertiary institutions continuing to take record numbers of students means staff numbers are not rising to keep pace with student growth.

In fact, AUT declared a record $18 million profit last year because its student roll was up five percent on the previous year, despite a government cap that limits roll growth to three percent, at the same time as AUT cut the number of full-time equivalent academic staff members.

Dr Grey says the report also shows that staff at AUT are producing more research and generating more research income than previously, and that they are teaching a higher proportion of postgraduate students, all of which indicates higher workloads.

"In the long term this strategy is not productive or sustainable" said Dr Grey.

NatColl strike kick-starts negotiations

Wellington-based TEU members at NatColl are back in negotiations today after a successful lightning strike brought their employers back to the bargaining table. Branch delegate Peter Campbell says he is hopeful that a fair and reasonable settlement is imminent.

Rosette furore at Auckland graduation

Staff and students were stunned earlier this week at the Law and Arts Graduation ceremony when university officials barred entry to the ceremony to one of the university’s top-achieving students because of a rosette he was wearing.

Vernon Tava, who graduated with first class honours, Masters in Law, was told to remove a small yellow rosette pinned to his regalia, which protested the vice-chancellor's attempt to remove important academic conditions of work from the academic staff collective agreement.

Mr Tava was told that unless he removed his rosette his degree would be withheld and he would be prevented from crossing the stage. When he refused to surrender the rosette he was threatened with disciplinary action.

"When I pointed out that there were no grounds for them preventing me from entering the theatre," said Mr Tava, "a male member of staff put a restraining hand on my chest and another official asked rhetorically, 'would you like us to search your pockets Sir?'"

This altercation occurred in the context of a long-running dispute between the vice-chancellor and staff about key academic conditions of employment, which affect how academics do their teaching and research and engage with the wider community.

Many other students and administrative staff wanted to wear the rosettes to show solidarity with academic staff, but were ordered not to.

In contrast, an estimated 95 percent of academic staff wore the rosettes during the ceremony.

Mr Tava did eventually cross the stage, complete with a rosette hidden under his cap. But, in the meantime the university's actions had outraged the university’s student president Joe McCrory.

"AUSA will be working on behalf of students to seek an official apology from the University of Auckland for their disgraceful conduct,” Mr McCrory said.

Other news

"Likening academics who advocate for change based on their rigorous and well-executed research to a lobby that is protecting their economic interests is an attack on academic freedom. Impugning academics’ credibility in this way is a worldwide problem that is convincing many academics that it is not worth their reputation to speak publicly on their area of expertise." TEU national president Sandra Grey takes a public stand in favour of academics taking public stands.

Student loan repayments have increased $2.5 million since Kiwi graduates living overseas were urged to support the Christchurch earthquake. Inland Revenue's March figures showed a $2.5m increase in loan payments on the same period last year. About 1,000 additional debtors made payments - The Press

The faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago filed paperwork Friday with the state’s labor relations board to become one of only a handful of research universities where professors engage in collective bargaining. Friday’s announcement represents the first major victory for a partnership between the American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of University Professors. The two unions have started a campaign to focus on organizing faculty members at research institutions - Inside Higher Ed

The link to last week's zombie story was so popular that we have another this week. Two academics were arrested in London last week for attempting to hold a "Zombie Wedding" in Soho Square scheduled to coincide with William and Kate's royal wedding breakfast, before moving on for a "Zombie Fertility Rite" at the Eros statue in Piccadilly Square. - Times Higher Education Supplement

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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.

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