Tertiary Update Vol 14 No 29

Tertiary education staff understand the ideology on both sides of the debate about voluntary student membership, says TEU president Sandra Grey, but with legislation on the issue now imminent it’s time politicians focus on finding a pragmatic solution rather than arguing their ideological corners.

“Whether you believe in voluntary membership for students’ associations in theory or not, the evidence from Australia, and from voluntary associations in New Zealand, is that it is bad for tertiary education staff.”

“In all instances the result has been one of two things. Either tertiary institutions start offering the services that the students’ association previously offered, and also pick up the tab for running those services; or they don’t offer to pick up those services, which will mean less pastoral care, a less vibrant cultural atmosphere, and decreased support for students.”

“The first option means budget cuts in other areas and increased workload as tertiary institutions shift money and staff to cover these new expenses.  The second option means it is harder for students to learn. Neither is a pragmatic solution.”

TEU Council is urging branches to support the New Zealand Union of Students Associations’ (NZUSA) campaign to stop the bill passing including participating in the National Day of Action planned for on 17 August , supporting its on-line campaigns, Demand A Better Future website and Save Our Services, and contacting the local student associations in their area to see what support and help they can provide.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Budget cuts looming at Canterbury
2. Inflation sidesteps education workers’ pay-packets
3. University entrance gets tougher

Other news

The CTU has reacted to comments made by the Prime Minister this week that the Government is looking at labour market ‘reform’ as an option to address the high exchange rate. “We have been increasingly concerned that the Government has abandoned any attempt to build a ‘high wage, high skill, high value economy’ and instead is advocating for a ‘competitive’ economy based in part on weakened rights for workers.”- CTU Secretary Peter Conway

Lincoln University’s vice-chancellor Roger Field will retire from April next year. Field has spent 40 years at Lincoln University, starting his career there as a lecturer in plant science and has spent the past eight years as vice-chancellor. – The Christchurch Press

More than 500 people at risk of long-term unemployment will miss places in a training scheme next year because of a funding shuffle between government agencies – New Zealand Herald

Chants of “no choice, no voice” filled the air at Victoria University last week as 200 frustrated students and lecturers gathered to protest programme cuts. University management has proposed cutbacks that will see least eight staff lose their jobs, close the Crime and Justice Research Centre, and axe various international relations courses – TV3

Senior economist with the University of Auckland Business School Dr Rhema Vaithianathan says New Zealand managers and processes are “strikingly bad” at managing staff and they – rather than the wage gap with Australia – might be the most significant reason for losing staff to our trans-Tasman cousins.

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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.