Dear TEU members covered by the ITP MECA

Thank you to all the members who came to the stopwork meetings last week. “ It was good to have the broad range of discussion on the current employers offer and options for a way forward.

The cumulative vote across all the meetings was an overwhelming rejection of the employers’ offer and support for the facilitation process under the Employment Relations Act.

Included in this newsletter is TEU’s letter to the employers, advising them of the outcomes of the stopwork meetings.

The legal papers for facilitation have been filed by the TEU lawyer today, in the Employment” ” ”  Relations Authority as for the first step in the facilitation process.

As soon as we find out what the step in the bargaining process is, we will be back in touch with you all.

If you have any questions or comments please speak to your branch representative or email me on http://scr.im/irenabrorens

Thanks for your ongoing support and participation in maintaining these core conditions of employment in the ITP sector.

TūKotahi – Stand as One

Irena Brorens, Lead Advocate – http://scr.im/irenabrorens

On behalf of your bargaining team – Glennis Birks (Wintec), Rod Fearn (WITT), Sarah Hardman (Unitec), Sharon Phillips (Whitireia), Eric Stone (NorthTec), Robyn Tucker (BoPP), Chan Dixon”  Co – Advocate (TEU Organiser)

17 February 2010

Ms Debbie White
Human Resources Manager
Waikato Institute of Technology
Private Bag 3030
Waikato Mail Centre
Hamilton 3240
Via email

Attention: Peter Wulff, Les Freeman, Warren Thompson, Theresa Gafa and Eve Steenson

Dear Debbie

MECA Negotiations

As you are aware, we have completed a round of stopwork meetings with our members covered by the MECA.”  Prior to these meetings all members were provided with your letter dated 29 January 2010 and this was discussed and your offer was voted on at these meetings. The outcome of that vote is that members have rejected your offer.

The reason for the rejection of your offer was that although your letter went into some detail regarding the changes you want to discretionary leave and duty days the offer has not significantly altered from your previous proposals in December 2009.

The offer of a one off lump sum payment of $1,000 or $2,000 for the permanent loss of all or part of discretionary leave entitlements has not changed members’ minds about the value of this important national core condition. It would be fair to say that members were insulted by the proposal as outlined in your letter. The complete loss of professional control over their leave conditions, as you know continues to be a major issue for our members.

Furthermore, as you know, the examples that were given in appendix A were misleading. The representations of the increases being approximately 7% or 11% over this period, by including the lump sum payment, are not an on going increase. In fact the real on-going increase in the offer is only 4% over the 24 month term.

As previously stated in various meetings during the bargaining process TEU has indicated that the part b of the current clause already allows for some of the flexibility that the employers are seeking and we have offered to work with you, on this matter, via a pilot or working party outside of the bargaining arena. Members cannot understand why you have refused this offer.

One of the other concerns raised at the meetings was the lack of considered response to the TEU proposal to bring stability to four of the institutions within this current MECA by finding a way to settle on a nil salary increase with no change to conditions. This seems particularly extraordinary as a number of chief executives have made statements during the bargaining process to the effect that if it weren’t for the MECA, they could settle a site agreement immediately.

Your letter has stated “we have no agenda of seeking to move to individual employment agreements for all staff” therefore, TEU is requesting that during this next stage in the bargaining process and post 1 March that all parties to the MECA continue to honour the MECA, for all existing and new employees.

The bargaining to conclude a collective agreement continues and our members have directed us to refer this bargaining to the Employment Relations Authority for facilitation under section 50 B of the Employment Relations Act 2000. In good faith our members intend withhold taking any industrial action over the coming weeks, to enable the parties with the Authority’s assistance to find an agreed resolution.

The withholding of the industrial action would be conditional on the employers’ agreement to continue to employ all new and existing staff on the terms of the collective agreement in the interim.

The TEU propose a significant level of industrial action if the facilitation process is not successful.

Yours sincerely

Irena Brorens
MECA Advocate
National Industrial Officer

CC Sharn Riggs
MECA team members