Wednesday 9 June is the Tertiary Education Union’s national celebration of General Staff Day, a day on which union members recognise the work done by the sector’s support, library and technical staff.  The day’s events at the University of Canterbury are intended as a further expression of solidarity with those members whose jobs are or have been proposed for disestablishment in the four change proposals of Project STAR.  As such, the day’s activities will encompass not only general staff members but also academics and students.

A union meeting including an address from the TEU National President, Tom Ryan, will begin at 12pm and will be followed at 1pm by a march to the Registry and a rally for members, students and their supporters.  The day’s activities will wind down with a barbecue at TEU House from 2pm.

In a time of shrinking government funding for tertiary education and consequent retrenchment from within the universities themselves it is more important than ever that staff stand together, express their support for each other and for the principles that underpin the university itself as the critic and conscience of society.  General staff provide invaluable support in making research, teaching and learning possible and are part of the heart of the university: its labour force.

Thanks to uoc-day-by-day at Flickr for the photo