TEU reached a new membership record last month when 125 new members joined existing members to lift TEU’s total membership to 10,635 members. TEU has averaged over a 100 new members per month throughout 2010 and 2011. TEU is now the tenth largest union out of 157 unions registered in New Zealand.

TEU national president Sandra Grey says membership growth has been particularly strong in branches that have made recruitment part of their industrial negotiations strategy.

“With more members we have a stronger voice. People are joining TEU because they believe in being respected and paid fairly for work they do.”

“Year-in-year-out TEU succeeds at negotiating pay rises better than inflation,” says Dr Grey. “Research shows that unionised workplaces earn more than non-unionised workplaces. The more people who join, the stronger the union, and the better off everybody is.”

Leading the way, UCOL and NorthTec branches have both grown in size by 16 percent since the beginning of the year. Aoraki Polytechnic branch has grown 12 percent and WITT branch has grown 8 percent. TEU’s REAP (Rural Education & Activities Programme) membership also grew 11 percent since the beginning of the year.

The biggest growing university, AUT, grew 6 percent so far this year, while it neighbouring branch the University of Auckland grew by the largest number of members – 53 more members since the beginning of the year.