Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson is proposing extensivechanges to employment law, which include allowing employers to walk away from collective agreement negotiations. Cabinet approved the changes this week and they will likely go before Parliament this year.

TEU national secretary Sharn Riggs says the changes will have a huge impact upon people working in tertiary education.

“Removing the employer’s duty to conclude bargaining is among the worst of the changes – it would mean that we would probably not now have collective agreements in place at the ex ITP-MECA branches – Wintec, NorthTec, Unitec, Whitireia, and Bay of Plenty Polytechnic. It may also have prevented us resolving the long-running dispute at Auckland University last year. Under these changes the employers would have simply been able to say that they had tried their best but could not reach agreement. The effect of that would be that all our members would be sitting on individual agreements with no ability to collectively negotiate a pay increase or changes to their conditions.”

The government also intends to remove a provision that guarantees all new employees will be employed on the terms and conditions of the collective agreement for the first 30 days of their employment.

Ms Riggs says this will mean that new workers (who may not know or be told that there is a collective agreement in place at their institution) could be offered any employment conditions at all.

“We know now that employees usually stay on the conditions to which they are first appointed. If those are no longer the union negotiated conditions then new employees could be appointed on conditions that undermine the union conditions. This will enable the employer by default to introduce new conditions into the workplace – for example they could slowly erode timetabled teaching hours.”

The minister, Ms Wilkinson says that the changes are modest and pragmatic, and will increase productivity, and help create higher paying jobs.

However, the Council of Trade Unions says the changes being considered are the worst attack on workers’ rights since the 1990s and will give employees few options. The CTU says the changes would have enabled Ports of Auckland employer to walk away from collective agreement negotiations and proceed with redundancy plans.

Ms Riggs agrees.

“These law changes threaten to de-unionise tertiary education employees, and drive down pay and employment conditions. They are bad for productivity and worse for any vision New Zealand has of being a high-wage economy.”

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Petition to keep university councils democratic
2. MIT nixes fundraising BBQ
3. Budget 2012 preview
4. Commission agrees with TEU’s PBRF advice

Other news

Tomorrow is Pink Shirt Day, an international campaign aimed to raise awareness about the power to prevent bullying. Pink Shirt Day aims to reduce bullying by celebrating diversity and promoting the development of positive social relationships.

Canterbury University students are plan to hand a petition against the proposed closure of three arts courses to vice-chancellor Rod Carr tomorrow and say they will not leave his office until he receives the document. You Are UC student group spokesperson Morgan Hodgson said that on Friday the group would hold a “petition crawl” at the university, ending up at Carr’s office - The Press

Australian National University management has backed away from its plans to ”spill” the positions of 32 of its tenured and permanent academic and administrative staff at the School of Music, bowing to union pressure to use formal redundancy provisions instead. The decision came as 1000 music-lovers crowded into ANU’s Union Court yesterday to protest against the proposed cuts in one of the biggest and loudest rallies in the university’s history -Canberra Times

Contrary to the Heraldeditorial, the biggest factor in the University of Auckland’s slip in world rankings is not student numbers. From 2006 to 2012, Auckland’s THE ranking fell from 46th to 82nd, yet student numbers increased only nine percent. At the same time, Government funding slowed to below the rate of inflation. Without proper investment, New Zealand academics will continue to move overseas for higher wages, research cannot be adequately carried out and students cannot receive the best tuition - Arena Williams and Sam Bookman

The University of Canterbury’s school of music is in crisis and needs to rapidly reverse a student decline to survive, a new report says. To fund a wages’ bill of $1.4 million, the school needed more than 180 fulltime-equivalent students. It had 85 this year. The university said yesterday there was no possibility the music school would close. “This city lives and breathes music and we know the school of music is a critical part of the music community,” pro-vice-chancellor Ed Adelson said -The Press

A part time student at the University of Canterbury says the university’s plan to close its theatre program will cost her $4000 of fees for a degree she can no longer complete. Sarah has told the student campaign You are UC:

“If I was a single teen or in my early 20s, I could move to Wellington, Auckland, or Otago to complete my Theatre degree. But this is not my situation. I am married, I have 3 children, I own a home in Christchurch, moving to suit the degree I want to achieve is not in the realm of possibility for me. The only reason I started a degree at Canterbury was so I could become a High School Drama teacher. If this closure goes ahead, I will have spent $4000 towards a degree which I will be unable… to complete at Canterbury University.”

Meanwhile the Christchurch Press reports that corporate culture at the university may be choking creativity. Reporting on the change proposal to close theatre and film studies The Press notes:

“[T]he issue at the moment, the document goes on to say, is not that Arts courses are weak or unsustainable, but that the College of Arts offers more courses than it can support on current and projected income.”

“In short: there is nothing wrong with the affected courses but someone or something has to go. It also becomes clear that this thinking actually pre-dates the earthquakes, as the proposal says [Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the College of Arts, Prof] Adelson has been engaged in his strategic process for 18 months.”

The Press reports that that TEU has filed papers with the Employment Authority seeking a compliance order. Essentially, the filed papers charge the university with not following its own rules around academic process.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Will there be jobs for science graduates?
2. Joyce wants less representation on university councils
3. Massive student protests shake Quebec
4. Massachusetts replaces teacher educators with video highlights

Other news

Instead of rethinking whether performance measures work in the tertiary sector, the government has set up a performance exercise looking at student retention and completion. For tertiary institutions the quickest route to achieving in this exercise is making sure students pass their courses. The simplest way to ensure students pass is to put pressure on academics to elevate grades (and in a few isolated cases this is already beginning to happen in a range of institutions across New Zealand) – Dr Sandra Grey on Kiwiblog

What we’re saying, though, is that once you’ve used your 200 weeks [of student allowance], that’s the end of it. Currently, you can get exemptions for long programmes, as they call them, or for master’s or PhDs. But when somebody’s getting to the point when they’re doing a master’s or a PhD or a long programmes where they’ve perhaps done one degree and they’re going to do another degree, they are going to have a good income when they leave, and therefore they should be able to pay off a student loan - Steven Joyce on TVNZ Q&A

Universities NZ welcomes the Minister of Tertiary Education, Skills & Employment’s indication over the weekend that there will be a modest increase to the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) in this year’s Budget as it is an effective system for supporting the wide-ranging contributions made by university research - Universities NZ

39 percent of fraud in both tertiary and local government sectors went un-investigated by police. Some 38 percent of respondents in councils and 37 percent in polytechnics and universities said they were aware of a case of fraud in their institution within the past two years – compared to a public sector average of less than a quarter - Radio NZ

Saudi Arabian students have been banned from studying in Christchurch because of earthquake fears. Students sponsored by the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education cannot get government-funded scholarships in Christchurch this year -Stuff

Confronted with the biggest crisis since the 30s, the trade body for British sociologists proudly displayed its engagement by enumerating articles in the Journal of Niche Studies. All this is a long way from that letter of 1981, let alone Keynes. Perhaps it shows how far academics have been forced to conform to their research assessment exercises and turn out measurable output - The Guardian

TV3′s new Sunday morning offering, Three60, is sponsored by Massey University in a deal some sources say could be worth around $50,000. Professor Malcolm Wright, Massey University’s head of journalism, appeared onThree60 to discuss the Rupert Murdoch saga. The sponsor became the commentator. In doing so, the tertiary institution got more buck for their endorsement dollar than if they had flashed a logo on screen at the commencement of the show – which they did. Is this part of the deal? - The New Zealand Herald

The TEC consultation paper “Changes to the reporting framework for the PBRF 2012 Quality Evaluation” and the report prepared for the TEC by KPMG assessing the preparedness of TEOs for the 2012 Quality Evaluation highlight the extent of problems that have developed with the implementation of the PBRF model in our tertiary institutions.  The TEU therefore welcomes the efforts by the TEC to change reporting practices in order to remedy the effects of the inconsistencies in HR practices identified in the KPMG report.

The PBRF model was originally developed as a bulk funding mechanism to recognise and reward research excellence amongst tertiary institutions.  However during implementation many of its core principles and ideals have in our view been compromised, often with very negative consequences on achieving the original goals and on our members.  Therefore whilst any changes may have flow-on effects, we believe that the extent of discrepancies in preparing and reporting by TEIs make it imperative to implement new reporting modalities.  Otherwise, as the TEC notes in its paper, the results of this Quality Evaluation will lack credibility within the sector.

The two options

The TEU’s interest in assessing the options proposed by the TEC is first and foremost to consider the likely impact on our members and their employment.  TEU members have reported many practices by TEIs which are, in line with the TEC’s observations in paragraph 46 of the consultation document, inconsistent with the intent and principles of the PBRF.  These practices predominantly relate to staff appointments, career progression and performance management.  We therefore support a reporting framework that provides the best protection against using PBRF performance as a rationale for making changes to employment conditions.  Our members consistently report that it is staff whose TEIs have identified them as likely to occupy the “R” or “R(NE)” who become the target for changes to employment status, excessive management scrutiny, limiting of career progression opportunities and so forth.

For this reason we support Option 2: Excluding “R” and “R(NE)” from the calculation of the AQS.  As the TEC notes, this option “serves to remove one of the most significant incentives for TEOs to manage the employment relationships of staff for the purposes of maximising their ‘ranking’ through the Quality Evaluation measure.”

The two sub-options

The TEU supports variant B– not collecting a determination of eligibility in the PBRF census file.  While this option may limit the amount of information the Ministry of Education can collect in relation to the Quality Evaluation, that concern is overridden by the need to minimise the ability of TEIs to ‘game’ the system, by managing the eligibility of staff (through various dubious human resources practises).

Changing the reporting threshold

Finally, in regards to the proposal to change the reporting threshold (on the assumption that Option 2 is adopted), we would support such an approach, as it provides the best protection for members to ensure their Quality Categories cannot be inferred from this information.  The TEC paper notes that this may mean loss of some of the more detailed information currently available, which is likely to impact on smaller providers.  However, ensuring privacy of information for our members is a priority; we therefore support the TEC’s proposal to extend this threshold to the TEO level.  It is worth remembering in this instance that the information gathered during the PBRF Quality Evaluation process is a small part of the work that institutions undertake; equally there are many other ways that useful information can be obtained across the sector.

Conclusion

The information gathered from TEOs by KPMG, and the TEC’s subsequent efforts to address the issues identified in the report again highlight the importance of a broader debate on the effectiveness of the PBRF as a funding model, and more specifically its impact on staff and students and the work they are engaged in – teaching, learning and research.  The TEU looks forward to being part of this debate.

EEO and diversity policies and strategies include recruitment based on merit, fairness at work, flexible working options (such as family-friendly policies) and promotion based on ability.  These policies and strategies should encompass all aspects of employment including recruitment, remuneration and other rewards, career progression and employment conditions.  Integrating equity and diversity policies and strategies are key ingredients for organisational success.

The TEU is committed to promoting EEO and diversity policies and strategies within the tertiary education sector because we believe that implementing such strategies creates better workplaces, where employees are recognised for the diverse skills, perspectives and experiences they bring to their workplaces.  EEO and diversity strategies also contribute to better workplace decision-making and more effective work practices, because they encourage management and employees to consider a range of ideas, cultural perspectives and work styles.

Therefore the TEU will continue to promote effective EEO and diversity strategies within our tertiary education institutions, and where appropriate will work with institutions to assess the effectiveness of these.

The TEU further notes and actively supports the requirement for all tertiary education organisations to operate an EEO programme (as a good employer, State Sector Amendment Act 1989 S77A), to publish it, to comply with it (SSA Act 1989 S77D) and to report on it externally through the annual report.

Within the union, the TEU will take a leadership role in demonstrating the importance of EEO and diversity strategies within the tertiary education sector.

As ratified by: council 16^th March 2012

Review date: March 2014

The TEU supports strategies and practices that ensure all employees are able to work in safe and productive workplaces.  We are committed to contributing to the reduction of workplace harm or death by advocating for active health and safety roles for union members within tertiary education institutions.  Such roles include union representation on health and safety committees, or where such committees do not exist, the ability for the local union branch to meet regularly with the appropriate management teams to discuss the implementation of health and safety policies and procedures.

In addition the TEU is committed to ensuring that safe and healthy working conditions, equipment and systems of work are provided in all universities, institutes of technology/polytechnics, wānanga and other institutions or organisations in which our members are employed.  Integral to this is the provision of adequate information, training and supervision to all employees, and specific and timely training and support to those employees who take up a health and safety representative role.

As ratified by: council 16^th March 2012

Review date: March 2014

The university told staff and students on 26 March that it proposed to close theatre and film studies, American studies and cultural studies departments. However the papers show that it had already been working behind the scenes to get rid of theatre and film studies since at least last August.

The released documents show deputy vice-chancellor Ian Town met polytechnic chief executive Kay Giles on August 18 last year, when they discussed a proposal from Prof Town to move theatre and film studies from the university to CPIT.

A university spokesman told the Christchurch Pressyesterday that talks with CPIT were not  publicised because they were commercially sensitive.

“No decision has been made to discontinue the programme and no commitments were made to CPIT,” he said.

Theatre and film studies department co-ordinator Associate Professor Sharon Mazer told The Press she was “shocked and appalled” the university had held “secret conversations” since August.

She questioned how staff could offer input to the proposal when the process was so far along.

In an email to Ms Giles and other CPIT managers on March 6, the polytechnic’s dean of creative industries Jane Gregg said it would be “highly risky” to get involved.

“I think clearly this is not a proposition that has very much in it for us, if it is enacted as they seem to envisage.”

In earlier emails, Dr Gregg told Ms Giles she was “worried about getting dragged into a long-standing historical issue”.

One of the major differences between public and private sector workers in the education and training sector is most public sector education workers belong to a strong national union, whereas very few private sector employees belong to unions or have a collective employment agreement, which they can use to negotiate a pay rise.

Statistics NZ’s labour cost index data shows that the most common reasons employers gave for awarding pay rises in the last year were either to match a rise in the cost of living, or because of the existence of a collective employment agreement, and union members with whom they needed to negotiate at their worksites.  Most surveyed employers said they were unlikely to give pay raises for other reasons such as to match market rates, or to attract or retain staff.

TEU women’s vice-president Alex Sims said it is forty years since the Equal Pay Act 1972 was passed, yet women continue to be paid less than men for doing the same type of work, and occupations that are dominated by women are less valued and lower paid than equivalent male dominated occupations.

“Indeed, far from the gap between men’s and women’s earnings closing, the latest Quarterly Employment Survey shows that the pay gap between men and women has grown by 28 cents per hour in the last year.”

Associate Professor Sims says the Quarterly Employment Survey cannot be dismissed as a mere blip.

“In the past nine quarters, the male ordinary time wage has increased by a greater percentage than the female ordinary time wage on seven occasions; only twice did the female ordinary wage increase at a higher rate than the male wage.”

Quarterly Employment Survey data released by Statistics NZ today shows that that the number of full time equivalent jobs in education and training fell by 3.6 percent over the last year.

The data does not show in what sector of education and training these jobs disappeared, but within the tertiary sector, there have been on-going restructuring and redundancies as a response to government budget cuts.

“Government funding cuts do not prioritise resource, they simply remove resources. In this case, the resources are people and the effect is fewer people to teach students who want to learn”, said Dr Grey.

For more information:

Dr Sandra Grey, TEU national president, 021 844 176 or 04 801 5098
Stephen Day, TEU communications officer, 021 2900 734 or 04 801 4792
http://www.teu.ac.nz

You Are UC, the student campaign against cuts to the College of Arts at the University of Canterbury, is holding a barbeque complete with theatrical entertainment to protest against the cuts today. You Are UC will also becollecting signatures for a petition against the cuts. The protest starts at midday on the arts lawn outside A Block on the University’s Ilam campus.

The petition calls for an immediate halt to the College of Arts Change Proposal to cut three programmes saying the business case contains flaws and students have not had the time or information needed to take part in consultation.

You Are UC opposes the cuts recently announced to the College of Arts. Morgan Hodgson, a spokesperson for the group, said that You Are UC is concerned about the integrity of the process the University is following, and what it will mean for future potential cuts; including those in other departments.

“In dealing with a short-term funding crisis, there is long-term damage being done to the educational opportunities in Christchurch.”

“Theatre and Film Studies, for example, usually makes a profit for the university. Cutting it is bad for the balance sheet and bad for education. One of the American studies lecturers losing his job receives a Marsden Fund grant, which brings the university hundreds of thousands of dollars – money the change proposal does not account for.

“We want the university to revisit its case for change, and start a new consultation with robust figures,” said Hodgson.

Also in Tertiary Update this week

1. Student fees rise faster than inflation
2. Joyce entices Saudi students with ultrafast broadband
3. Teacher education scheme delivers too late
4. 1 in 6 students in financial distress

Other news

All five colleges at the University of Canterbury are said to be making hard choices and many more cuts are on their way. In the School of Commerce, the Management Science and Operations Management major has been under review since the beginning of March, and students and staff were given just over two weeks for input on this proposal. Only last year, students were informed suddenly that the Masters of Social Work degree was being cancelled indefinitely. Students that wanted to continue studying in this programme were notified that they would either have to return to undergraduate study or try to cross-credit their points. Other courses are being ‘taught out’ in the College of Education and rumour mill is running as to what could happen within the Colleges of Engineering and Science -Canta

Act leader John Banks has made an attack on “middle-class welfare”, urging National to bite the bullet and restore interest rates to student loans - New Zealand Herald

It is important for universities to engage with businesses if they are to produce relevant research, says Massey University’s newly appointed Professor in Innovation and Economics - Massey University

Charter schools supremo Catherine Isaac has signalled her education pilot could be run by for-profit organisations. The former Act Party president told the party’s annual conference yesterday that “for profit” organisations are not allowed to run schools in the UK. “That is being seen as a mistake and as something they want to change,” Ms Isaac said -Stuff

The University of Otago has denied “gaming” the system in order to appear higher on league tables which rank their quality of research performance and says it has “nothing to hide” over the way it takes part in the process - Otago Daily Times

Liam Burns, the president of the British National Union of Students, is calling for university lecturers to be forced to acquire teaching qualifications to ensure that students paying tuition fees are getting the most out of their degrees -The Guardian

The cost of a United States university degree has left people wide-eyed for decades but student debt has now mushroomed into a nightmare for Americans with potential to explode as the next major US financial crisis - The Australian

Exasperated by rising subscription costs charged by academic publishers, Harvard University has encouraged its faculty members to make their research freely available through open access journals and to resign from publications that keep articles behind paywalls -The Guardian