The Taranaki Daily Newsreports that student enrolments at WITT are up by 50 percent compared to this time last year and chief executive Richard Handley is attributing PEI’s demise to part of that increase.

PEI announced its closure last month after it failed to secure significant funding from the Tertiary Education Commission because of its below par course completion rates.

Mr Handley told the Daily News that there would be would be teaching jobs at WITT available for many of the staff at PEI who lost their jobs last month.

“PEI staff are now being identified by WITT as internal staff when they apply for jobs so there is more opportunity for them to be employed.”

He said many teaching jobs were only advertised internally if there were skills within WITT to cover the position and under the changes that would include former PEI staff.

“We have advertised seven jobs externally and extended the application closure date to allow PEI staff time to apply and we also have about five internal jobs they will be able to apply for.”

Mr Handley said he welcomed all interest from PEI staff and students and where appropriate PEI staff were encouraging their students to enrol with WITT.

TEU national secretary Sharn Riggs said there were real benefits for ex-PEI teachers who found jobs at WITT, because they would now have the choice of belonging to a union that offered a collective agreement that protected working conditions and pay.

“Those staff have been through a lot but now, hopefully, with the chance to belong to a strong national union they will have greater job security and protection.”

She also applauded WITT’s CEO on his decision to treat these staff as internal applicants.

Mrs Tolley also announced this week that Christchurch is to have a new Trades Academy, and that student places are to more than treble at the existing National Trade Academy in Christchurch, which incorporates CPIT.

The number of fees-free places for 16 and 17 year olds will increase to 2000 in 21 Trades Academies from next year.

“Schools are partnering with tertiary providers, employers and industry training organisations to give 16 and 17 year olds a more flexible way of learning, and the vocational skills which will give them more career choices,” Mrs Tolley said.

The ten new Trades Academies which will open during 2012 will involve support from UCOL in in Palmerston North and Manawatu, Horowhenua, Whanganui and the Wairarapa , NMIT in Nelson, Unitec and AUT in West Auckland, MIT in Manurewa, Otago Polytechnic in Central Otago, EIT in the Hawkes Bay, WITT in Taranaki, Te Tai Poutini on the West Coast, Wintec in Taumaranui, and the Open Polytechnic across the country.

“Local economies will also benefit from these new Trades Academies, as businesses will now have more young people with better skills ready to enter the workplace,” said Mrs Tolley.

“By 2014, 12,500 places will be available for 16 and 17 year olds in Trades Academies, Service Academies and the wider Youth Guarantee.”

Ministry of Education statistics show the average surplus as a percentage of revenue at public tertiary education providers climbing dramatically from 1.9 percent in 2006 to 5.2 percent last year.

In 2006 public tertiary education providers made a combined surplus of $66 million on revenue of $3.5 billion. Last year the same institutions made a combined surplus of $280 million on revenue of $4.4 billion.

Public tertiary institutions are supposed to meet a benchmark surplus of 3 percent of revenue each year. By exceeding that benchmark by a further 2.2 percent last year the institutions pocketed nearly $100 million dollars more than they were required to.

The large surplus last year does not seem to be a one off aberration according to TEU National Secretary Sharn Riggs. “They have grown steadily each year since 2006.”

The public institutions that have generated the largest surpluses as percentages of revenue include Waiariki (16 percent) Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and SIT (13 percent each), WITT and UCOL (12 percent each), the Open Polytechnic, CPIT and Bay of Plenty Polytechnic (11 percent each).

“While we commend these institutions on careful and prudent management, we need to remember that surplus money is money that could have been spend saving jobs, teaching students and protecting quality education,” said Ms Riggs. “Too many good people have lost their jobs, gone without pay rises or been told to turn away students because of tight fiscal circumstances. It is galling to see that those circumstances were not so tight after all.”

Also in Tertiary Update this week

1. Negotiations across the nation
2. Voluntary student membership unlikely before election
3. Sleepover workers reject government offer

Other news

“Wanted: casual teaching staff. Postgraduate qualifications essential, PhD preferred. Minimum three hours work per paid hour; hours to be advised. No office provided. Three months work available; chance of more next year, after four months unpaid break.” Doesn’t sound very enticing, does it? But such is the lot of the sessional tutor — 70,000 in Australia, the NTEU estimates - The Melbourne Age

Two-thirds of English universities will have a maximum fee level of £9,000 and a third of them will charge the full fee for all courses. UCU said today that it was not surprised that all universities’ tuition fee hikes had been approved, leaving England as the most expensive country to study for a public degree – University and College Union

Almost a quarter of Australia’s universities expect to be over-enrolled by more than 20 per cent this year. And more than two-thirds of institutions began the year planning to take on extra students without any federal teaching subsidy to offset the cost. Australian universities are jockeying for position in next year’s demand-driven market. From next year, universities are promised teaching subsidies for every place they can fill – The Australian

Welsh ministers have been handed proposals for cutting the number of universities through mergers. A blueprint from the body that funds higher education would cut the number of universities in Wales from 11 to six. Education Minister Leighton Andrews, who last year said universities must “adapt or die”, is backing the proposals - BBC

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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.

A petition calling on the chief executives of Whitireia, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, NorthTec, Unitec and Wintec to start negotiating with their staff is drawing a steady stream of signatures since it was launched yesterday.

Since being abandoned by the Western Institute of Technology in Taranaki (WITT), which settled a collective agreement with its staff in a matter of hours and then went on to declare a record surplus, the five polytechnics have continued to stall and challenge legal rulings rather than negotiate fair collective agreements with their own staff.

However TEU members at the five polytechnics have now launchedReady2Go campaigns -including NorthTec where staff hosted a free barbecue for students and Whitireia, where nearly fifty staff sent a written invitation to their chief executive inviting him to come to the negotiation table.

The petition, which TEU members from universities, wānanga, polytechnics and other institutions around the country have been signing, calls on the five chief executives to negotiate a site-based collective agreement with the union members on their site for the good of their students, and for the good of education.

You can sign the petition here.

In other news, TEU made an official information request to each of the five polytechnics asking for how much public money they have spend on legal fees and consultants in their attempt to avoid bargaining site-based agreements with TEU. Unitec has subsequently responded by refusing to provide this information on the grounds that it would unnecessarily prejudice its commercial position.

Also in Tertiary Update this week

1. Exam time earthquakes create more uncertainty
2. Whitireia and Weltec want one-stop wellyshop
3. Cashing up annual leave
4. Interest-free loans for economically important courses
5. Equity support for refugee students

Other news

WITT had reason to celebrate last week as it coupled a graduation with the announcement of a record revenue surplus of nearly $3 milion. Chief executive Richard Handley thanked staff for their contribution to this. This comes after years of trying to claw back from a dire financial situation – Taranaki Daily News

Rather than cutting wage rates, for which there is scant evidence of employment benefits, we should be improving education, training and employment pathways. Are caps on tertiary enrolments and policies discouraging tertiary institutions from increasing their level 1-to-3 certificate enrolments – both also introduced in 2008 – disadvantaging … young people? - Dr Bill Rosenberg in the Dominion Post

In just 15 years, expenditure on research in Australian universities has more than doubled and now accounts for 63 percent of all spending. And 28 out of 36 universities could now be classified as research-intensive, given they spend more than 50 percent of revenue on research activities – The Australian

The NSW government will need to consider opening up its TAFE system to full private competition, but there is no concrete proposal at this stage. Last month’s federal budget promised an additional AU$1.75 billion from next year to jurisdictions prepared to sign up to a more ambitious and market-oriented reform of their respective public training systems – The Australian

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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.

TEU has won another significant legal decision against the five polytechnic employers who are refusing to negotiate site based collective agreements.

Last month a full bench of the Employment Court ruled that Northtec, Unitec, Wintec, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and Whitireia were required to negotiate site based collective agreements in good faith according to TEU’s initiation notices. After losing this decision, the employers decided they wanted it appealed and sought a stay that would allow them to refuse to begin bargaining until a decision had been made as to whether or not the appeal would be allowed by the Appeal Court. The Court of Appeal heard the case on Tuesday 17 May and we await the decision.

The Employment Court heard the application for a stay last week and ruled, yet again, in favour of TEU.

On behalf of the full Employment Court, Chief Judge Colgan said:

“To now stop the collective bargaining that the judgment permits, based on the union’s bargaining initiations, would be to delay, perhaps significantly, the settlement of collective agreements. This would not accord with the statutory objectives of orderly bargaining and the prompt settlement of collective agreements.”

Justice Colgan also strongly recommended that the employers cooperate with the TEU to begin the process of bargaining and to explain to staff the on-going litigation and its effects.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Wintec management pockets student cash
2. University of Auckland’s ranking at risk
3. Opportunity the big tertiary education issue for the budget

Other news

In a letter sent to the Waikato Times, Management School Dean, Professor Frank Scrimgeour, advised staff he ”proposed to disestablish all senior tutor and tutor positions within the faculty.” The letter said it was still at proposal stage and staff had until 6 May to respond with ideas. The letter said the tutor positions were not consistent with the University’s commitment to research-led teaching and did not provide an adequate career track for new academic staff. – Waikato Times

“Is he aware that changes to the student loan rules that take effect next year has caused the Inland Revenue Department to shelve its new student loan software project after spending $21m; if so, when did he first become aware of the problem?” – David Shearer to the Minister for Tertiary Education (16 May 2011). An answer is due 24 May.

The Tertiary Education Commission is recovering up to $4.3 million from 18 ITOs, which have claimed more funds than they are entitled to in 2009, based on numbers of trainees and the status of trainees. “The money that is being recovered relates to funding claimed for trainees where there is no clear record of eligibility for government funding,” says Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce.

“This is why, for all my libertarian tendencies, I support strong public options. Public roads, public healthcare, public safety and public education. Education is perhaps the most important. The better educated someone is, the less likely they are to use other public options like healthcare or prison beds. So an investment now in education pays off many times over down the road.” – Forbes

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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.

TEU has informed the employers’ lawyer that it will oppose the application for appeal. National industrial officer Irena Brorens is currently working on TEU’s legal response, and is developing campaign resources.

“Union members and staff are meeting on Monday to finalise a plan, said Ms Brorens. “Union members at the five branches are sick of waiting. They have a legal right to negotiate a collective agreement in the form that they choose. Rather than sitting down to talk about important issues about pay, working conditions and quality education these five employers continue to hide from their responsibilities to negotiate with their own employees. They have dragged this on for too long.”

TEU members at all five of the sites, plus the other ex-ITP MECA site, WITT have all voted twice that they want to negotiate site-based collective agreements rather than a new multi-employer collective agreement.

The TEU has reached an amicable settlement with WITT.

Ms Brorens says WITT’s quick settlement shows the other employers’ decision to appeal is a waste of public money, and more importantly it is a waste of time.

“Union members at these five polytechnics currently do not have a collective agreement because the employers have wasted so much time. New staff are not able to claim important working conditions because there are no collective agreements to join,” said Ms Brorens.

The Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT) and TEU members have ratified a collective agreement that will give the union members a 0.75 percent pay rise effective from December last year, a further 2 percent pay rise from February this year, a pro rata lump sum payment of $400, and then another 1.75 percent pay rise on 1 December this year. The agreement, which expires in November 2012, will be the first of a series of site-based agreements at the six ex-MECA institutes of technology which had previously been mired in industrial action, legal cases and unsuccessful negotiations.

TEU members will receive the back pay and new salary rate on 3 May.  WITT has also agreed to a delay of three months from 3 May before passing this salary increase on to non-union members, and a further three-month delay again for the 1 December 2010 pay rise.

WITT and TEU also agreed to establish a working party to assess the current WITT salary scales with similar sized polytechnics.

TEU members at the five other polytechnics – Unitec, NorthTec, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, Whitireia and Wintec – have taken hope from the quick, amiable and efficient way that WITT managed to conclude negotiations with TEU members.

TEU national industrial officer Irena Brorens says the settlement shows WITT values its union members and the contribution they make the institution.

“Having seen the good result at WITT members at the other five ex- MECA polytechnics are excited about the opportunity of working together to negotiate new collective agreements at their branches too,” said Ms Brorens.

Also in Tertiary Update this week

1. TEU wins major case for restructured academics
2. 20,000 new students with no extra funding
3. Industrial action at Natcoll today
4. Govt crackdown on older students
5. International education bill will need to consider kiwi students too

Other news

TEU TV sends twins Janine and Joan out to find out if joining the Tertiary Education Union is value for money – YouTube

The Chair of the Board of Commissioners at the Tertiary Education Commission, Sir Wira Gardiner has welcomed the appointment of Belinda Clark as the Commission’s new Chief Executive. “Ms Clark is currently the Secretary for Justice and Chief Executive of the Ministry of Justice, and I am delighted that the Board has the opportunity to appoint such a high quality Chief Executive,” said Sir Wira.

“Soaring prices from the GST increase plus steep increases in some necessities like food and fuel are another blow to workers already suffering from stagnating wages, high unemployment and attacks on their rights at work. They highlight the unsustainability of low wage levels in this country” said CTU President Helen Kelly in response to this week’s announcement of a 4.5 percent increase to the Consumer Price Index.

On the day of the deadline for British universities to submit their proposed new tuition fees, the University and College Union (UCU) said the clear trend to charge the full £9,000 or very close to that figure, proved the government’s higher education funding policy is in disarray. The government claimed that only in ‘exceptional circumstances’ would universities charge more than £6,000 a year. But, to date, a survey of 71 institutions found that at least two-thirds of institutions want to charge the full fee for all or some of their courses, as they look to plug the funding gap created by huge cuts to teaching budgets.

Poor university entrance rates among Pacific Island pupils have prompted calls for a national strategy to address their under-performance. NCEA results show that the number of pacific islanders who achieved university entrance in year 13 last year was lower than in 2009 – Dominion Post

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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.

TEU members at the six polytechnics have been involved in difficult negotiation over the last two years with the six employers. During that time, the six employers tried to remove important working conditions from their staff. Eventually, late last year, TEU members at all six polytechnics voted they would rather negotiate directly with their local employer than with all six as part of a multi-employer collective agreement. But the six employers refused and initiated for yet another attempt at a multi-employer agreement.

Since then TEU has successfully ratified a site-based agreement with Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki. Now, with this successful court judgement, members believe they can start to negotiate similarly successful outcomes at the other five polytechnics.

TEU national industrial officer Irena Brorens says the decision is an exciting one because it shows that the employment court will support union members who work together collectively and democratically, despite the employers’ cynical use of the Employment Relations Act.

Eric Stone, NorthTec TEU branch president, welcomes the decision of the employment court and is pleased the group of polytechnics can now spend their public funding addressing employment issues and supporting student outcomes rather squandering it fighting the staff they employ.

For more information:

Irena Brorens, TEU National Industrial Officer, 021 770 843 or 04 801 5098

Stephen Day, TEU communications officer, 021 2900 734 or 04 801 4792

The on-going saga around the ITP multi-employer collective agreement will head to court one more time.

TEU has applied to the Employment Court claiming it should not be required to continue to bargain with the six ex-ITP MECA employers (WITT, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, Unitec, NorthTec, Whitireia and Wintec) for a new multi-employer agreement because its members have already voted in a ballot that they don’t want such an agreement. In response, the six employers claim that TEU has illegally cross-initiated for six collective employment agreements, one at each of the institutions.

The Employment Relations Authority determined yesterday that the matter should proceed straight to the court, rather than being heard by the authority first.

The ITP MECA has been in turmoil for two years now while employers have tried to remove core conditions from union members. Union members have resisted these attempts but have missed pay rises and the chance to negotiate a timely agreement because of the employers’ intransigence.

TEU members told Tertiary Update that they are astounded that these employers are continuing to push for a multi-employer collective agreement that nobody wants, and that they, the staff, just want to get on with negotiating a collective agreement at their own workplaces.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Canterbury staff should be excused from PBRF
2. Auckland VC’s refusal to negotiate leads to PBRF strike
3. No place for would-be Otago students
4. Women’s Day highlights growing pay gap
5. TEU tells govt it needs to change its policy
6. Trade ministry too busy to answer questions

Other news

“This is a dispute that need not happen, should not happen. It baffles me, and I know it baffles people at all levels in the university as to why the CEO has taken this confrontational route. I hope, and so does the university community as a whole, that common sense prevails and we move on to the real challenges facing our university - Dr Haworth’s opinion piece in this morning’s New Zealand Herald.

The University of Canterbury believes it has lost only a few hundred enrolments as a result of last month’s earthquake. Vice-chancellor Rod Carr says that so far the equivalent of 14,200 full-time students have enrolled for the year. Dr Carr expects the roll will be only 3% below normal - Radio NZ

Waikato University is again being criticised over art and social sciences faculty redundancies. The university has since disestablished 8.7 fulltime positions through voluntary redundancy and retirement, and is considering another 2.5 (two senior lecturers and one part-timer). The university said five positions originally proposed for redundancy had been taken off the table after “extensive consultation”. But TEU says withdrawal of the five positions shows the university plans, by implication, went too far -Waikato Times

The battle between Republicans and labour unions in Ohio, Wisconsin and other states is ostensibly about public workers’ pay, benefits and bargaining rights. What is really at stake, however, is not labour’s income. It is labour’s influence – not just in the American workplace but also in American politics -Washington Post

More universities in England could be put at risk of bankruptcy as a result of cuts and changes to funding, the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned - BBC

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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.

These just concluded ballots followed a series of meetings where TEU members had already voted in favour of replacing their MECA with separate, site-based agreements at each of their polytechnics. Despite that vote the six employers had initiated for another MECA, forcing a second ballot on the issue.

TEU has now written to each of six polytechnics, advising them of the outcome of the respective votes, and has initiated for a site based collective agreement at each polytechnic.

TEU members are now planning to organise claims meetings and establish bargaining teams, to start the bargaining process at each polytechnic.

National industrial officer Irena Brorens says that staff at the six polytechnics have been waiting a long time now to be able to negotiate a collective agreement.

“These staff have been through a lot of unnecessary hassle and they deserve the chance to finally negotiate a collective agreement that addresses some of the issues they are experiencing as workers.”