Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment, Steven Joyce, says he has attended a number of meetings with Metro ITP representatives at which someone from the private lobbying firm Saunders Unsworth was also present. The Metro Group is a peak body representing six public polytechnics; Unitec, CPIT, Wintec, Otago Polytechnic, Weltec and MIT. Saunders Unsworth [...]

A lobbying disclosure bill that is to be debated by parliament could impact tertiary institutions that currently pay lobbying agencies to influence politicians.  Last year Tertiary Update revealed that private lobbying and consultancy company Saunders Unsworth lists among its past and present clients Massey University, Otago University, the six metro polytechnics, Victoria University of Wellington, and the Industry Training Federation. [...]

Tertiary institutions are in a constant state of restructuring says TEU deputy secretary Nanette Cormack. Last week TEU’s national council heard that there are 59 reviews affecting 500 jobs currently underway across 17 different tertiary education institutions. “500 members are about 5 percent of our membership. When one in twenty people are having their job [...]

Some polytechnics are reporting strong enrolments and say relatively high unemployment is continuing to drive people into tertiary education according to Radio New Zealand According to Radio NZ tertiary institutions in New Plymouth, Wellington, Porirua and Auckland say enrolments are between 5 percent and 40 percent higher than at the same time last year. “However, [...]

Education Minister Anne Tolley has announced the ten new Trades Academies, which are to open around New Zealand from 2012, providing practical skills training for secondary school students while allowing them to study for NCEA credits and tertiary qualifications. Mrs Tolley also announced this week that Christchurch is to have a new Trades Academy, and [...]

The employers at the five Ready2Go polytechnics (Whitireia, Wintec, BOPP, Unitec and NorthTec) have now finally agreed that they are indeed ‘ready to go’ and have agreed dates to negotiate with their respective TEU members. The first, Whitireia begins negotiations tomorrow (Friday) and the last gets underway on 3 August. Weltec has joined these five polytechnics in [...]

7th July 2011 Office of the Ombudsman PO Box 10 -152 The Terrace Wellington   Dear Sir/Madam On 6th May 2011 the TEU wrote to chief executives at five institutes of technology/polytechnics with whom we have been engaged in bargaining for a multi-employer collective agreement [Northtec Polytechnic, UNITEC, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, Winted and Whitireia [...]

Tertiary Update Vol 14 No 23 The five polytechnics that have, until last week, refused to negotiate site-based collective agreements with their staff members have also so far refused official information requests to disclose how much money they are spending on legal fees and consultants in their efforts to avoid negotiations. However, recently printed annual reports [...]

Tertiary Update Vol 14 No 22 The Court of Appeal ruled yesterday that five polytechnics must bargain site-based collective agreements with their staff members who are union members. The five polytechnics – NorthTec, Unitec, Wintec, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and Whitireia – had refused to bargain site-based agreements after union members voted in February that [...]

Media Release Tertiary Education Union 22 June 2011 The Court of Appeal ruled today that five polytechnics must bargain site-based collective agreements with their staff members who are union members. The five polytechnics – NorthTec, Unitec, Wintec, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and Whitireia – had refused to bargain site-based agreements after union members voted in [...]