Harvey Jones - Massey.

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I have been actively involved with union activities over the past 24 years since a ‘re-positioning’ exercise threatened my job in 2000. In the past, I have previously served as Branch President of the Massey Branch for over 6 years and continue to be an active branch committee member as Vice-President, and on successive negotiation rounds.

My work at Massey University in IT support, web publishing and online research design requires a blend of academic and general staff duties which helps to understand the needs of our members. Our Union needs to encourage its members to invest some energy into tertiary affairs and harness the knowledge and experience they can provide.

I am a current member of the Industrial and Professional Committee, in which I have served at various periods over the past 12 years. This national committee of TEU has the responsibility to develop strategies and campaigns to support members, union goals, and the provision or tertiary education for the public good. The industrial muscle of union members is needed more than ever in order to protect the jobs and conditions of staff employed in our sector from the current neo-liberal theories and the challenges of inflation.

The history of our union in its various forms, and as an association serves to protect the integrity of our professions and the ability of tertiary staff to speak out as a critic and conscience of society. Our combined union voice has developed its bicultural relationships and strengthened our ability to stake a claim with government for adequate public funding of the sector to benefit New Zealand and our community needs.

Ongoing underfunding of the tertiary sector is serious challenge facing our sector. The Tertiary Education Union must continue to promote its vision of a publicly funded education system, which can meet the needs of New Zealand’s educated labour force in teaching, research, and the critical thinking we need to advance into the future. We need to inform and activate our members and other staff in our institutions of this vision, while also promoting discussion in the public realm of the need for adequate funding of this sector. We must foster a change in public opinion from the current business model of user-pays education to a more sustainable model serving local communities and the needs of New Zealand’s citizens.

I have the background knowledge of the Tertiary Education Union (TEU) and its history, with an ongoing interest in the issues facing the sector and its staff to provide a positive contribution to TEU and the members it serves. I want to continue to build upon the experience and knowledge gained from my union activities at local and national levels and help guide the future of the tertiary sector in New Zealand.

I look forward to your support so I can continue to contribute my energies on a national basis to help protect the future of public tertiary education in New Zealand.

Harvey Jones