Tertiary Update Vol 14 No 13

The Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT) and TEU members have ratified a collective agreement that will give the union members a 0.75 percent pay rise effective from December last year, a further 2 percent pay rise from February this year, a pro rata lump sum payment of $400, and then another 1.75 percent pay rise on 1 December this year. The agreement, which expires in November 2012, will be the first of a series of site-based agreements at the six ex-MECA institutes of technology which had previously been mired in industrial action, legal cases and unsuccessful negotiations.

TEU members will receive the back pay and new salary rate on 3 May.  WITT has also agreed to a delay of three months from 3 May before passing this salary increase on to non-union members, and a further three-month delay again for the 1 December 2010 pay rise.

WITT and TEU also agreed to establish a working party to assess the current WITT salary scales with similar sized polytechnics.

TEU members at the five other polytechnics – Unitec, NorthTec, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, Whitireia and Wintec – have taken hope from the quick, amiable and efficient way that WITT managed to conclude negotiations with TEU members.

TEU national industrial officer Irena Brorens says the settlement shows WITT values its union members and the contribution they make the institution.

“Having seen the good result at WITT members at the other five ex- MECA polytechnics are excited about the opportunity of working together to negotiate new collective agreements at their branches too,” said Ms Brorens.

Also in Tertiary Update this week

1. TEU wins major case for restructured academics
2. 20,000 new students with no extra funding
3. Industrial action at Natcoll today
4. Govt crackdown on older students
5. International education bill will need to consider kiwi students too

Other news

TEU TV sends twins Janine and Joan out to find out if joining the Tertiary Education Union is value for money – YouTube

The Chair of the Board of Commissioners at the Tertiary Education Commission, Sir Wira Gardiner has welcomed the appointment of Belinda Clark as the Commission’s new Chief Executive. “Ms Clark is currently the Secretary for Justice and Chief Executive of the Ministry of Justice, and I am delighted that the Board has the opportunity to appoint such a high quality Chief Executive,” said Sir Wira.

“Soaring prices from the GST increase plus steep increases in some necessities like food and fuel are another blow to workers already suffering from stagnating wages, high unemployment and attacks on their rights at work. They highlight the unsustainability of low wage levels in this country” said CTU President Helen Kelly in response to this week’s announcement of a 4.5 percent increase to the Consumer Price Index.

On the day of the deadline for British universities to submit their proposed new tuition fees, the University and College Union (UCU) said the clear trend to charge the full £9,000 or very close to that figure, proved the government’s higher education funding policy is in disarray. The government claimed that only in ‘exceptional circumstances’ would universities charge more than £6,000 a year. But, to date, a survey of 71 institutions found that at least two-thirds of institutions want to charge the full fee for all or some of their courses, as they look to plug the funding gap created by huge cuts to teaching budgets.

Poor university entrance rates among Pacific Island pupils have prompted calls for a national strategy to address their under-performance. NCEA results show that the number of pacific islanders who achieved university entrance in year 13 last year was lower than in 2009 – Dominion Post

—

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.