More than 300 academic staff at the University of Auckland, including over 90 professors and associate professors so far, have pledged not to submit their research portfolios to management as part of an on-going dispute over control of their academic working conditions.

As a result, their portfolios will be excluded from national research funding (PBRF) calculations and the University of Auckland will slip in the research rankings, with a consequential loss of millions of dollars from the University’s budget.

In 2009 PBRF funding was worth $39 million to the university, or $24,000 per full-time academic.

The PBRF protest is a further step in the on-going industrial action by academic staff at the university as they attempt to prevent the vice-chancellor from removing core academic conditions related to research and professional practice from their employment agreement.

TEU national secretary Sharn Riggs says staff regret having to take this action, but they have been forced to do so because the vice-chancellor is refusing to address their concerns.

To date, the staff’s actions have included daily pickets outside the vice-chancellor’s office, targeting of public events at the university, wearing of rosettes at graduation ceremonies, stop-work meetings, and a large public rally of students and staff. During the campaign TEU membership has continued to grow from about 800 academics at the university, to nearly 1000.

“Members strongly believe that by jeopardising the conditions that enable them to perform their professional responsibilities the vice-chancellor is threatening the credibility of the university,” said Ms Riggs.